This week the Premier League is celebrating the incredible impact of football clubs in their local communities, as the
Premier League Charitable Fund marks its 10th anniversary.
Dave Jeffries, who leads the
Foundation of Light’s Premier League Kicks programme has been awarded a Premier League Kicks Facilitator Award, recognising his commitment to youth work and the work he does to inspire young people to achieve their potential.
Premier League Kicks is a free programme which supports young people aged 8 to 18 to engage in positive and constructive activities with the aim of significantly reducing anti-social behaviour.
From
football tournaments with the blue light services, to one-to-one mentoring support for young people and families, through to long distance
charity cycle rides in partnership with Newcastle United Foundation, Dave has led the Foundation’s Kicks team to support children engage positively with their communities.
The Foundation’s programme has recently expanded to deliver a more targeted one-to-one mentoring service which aims to support young and vulnerable children who are at risk of crime and anti-social behaviour.
Dave has been praised for his work by the Northumbrian Police Crime Commissioner, Kim McGuinness who said “A massive congratulations to Dave. It has been fantastic to work with you and you are at the forefront of doing great work with young people; to divert them away from crime, to improve lives and prevent crime.
“You’re an asset to the Foundation and an asset to the community. You are doing wonderful stuff and it’s been great for the Violence Reduction Unit and the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner to have the chance to work with you. Keep doing what you’re doing.”
[video width="848" height="480" mp4="https://www.foundationoflight.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Kim-McGuinness-Dave-Jeffries.MP4.mp4"][/video]Last year, Dave and the team achieved the Bronze Ambition Award for youth work, recognising the high quality of service provision and support the Foundation provides young people.
The Premier League Charitable Fund was established 10 years ago to distribute funding provided by the Premier League to clubs across the entire football pyramid, to support those clubs in their delivery of community programmes.
110 professional football clubs from the Premier League to the National League have been working in their communities to engage those that need the greatest support, provide positive pathways and support mental and physical wellbeing.
