Foundation of Light joins EFL Clubs in celebrating Community Heroes

Foundation of Light and Sunderland AFC will join other EFL Clubs in recognising and celebrating local heroes for the impact they make in their communities as part of the EFL’s Community Weekends.

The Community Weekends take pace from Saturday 22 February to Sunday 3 March and across the period, clubs, managers, and players will acknowledge the vital work that community staff and volunteers deliver 365 days per year and Community Heroes will be honoured by special visits from players and through matchday activities.

As part of matchday activations, fans will get the chance to hear from participants that have had their lives changed or even saved by their Club’s community work and find out more details about the range of projects available to them and ways they can get involved.

Several Foundation of Light participants will be given a special matchday experience to mark their successes since working with Sunderland AFC’s official charity.

Cole Griffiths, Beth Rae, and students from Hetton Academy were all recognised at the Foundation’s Gala Awards Dinner in November and will be invited pitchside at the Stadium of Light to be celebrated as Community Heroes when the Black Cats take on Hull City.

Six-year-old Cole, a student of St Mary’s Catholic Primary School, came out of his shell and made new friends with the help of his Premier League Primary Stars tutors.

Beth joined the Foundation’s supporting teaching and learning in schools course after dropping out of university and being unsure of her future. The 20-year-old is now thriving as a full-time teaching assistant with the Foundation.

The group of students from Hetton Academy worked with Foundation of Light’s Premier League Inspires programme, working on social action projects on topics close to their heart, making a difference in their school while becoming more confident and engaged in their education.

Trevor Birch, CEO of the EFL, said: “Community is a fundamental part of the EFL and its 72 Clubs’ identity. The work undertaken by Clubs has a hugely positive impact on the participants of the various programmes and in the towns and cities where people live.

“Football Clubs are trusted in their communities, and this can help to remove barriers for accessing support. Clubs are successfully addressing challenges linked to health, wellbeing, education and employment as well as helping to keep communities connected. We look forward to celebrating and recognising this incredible work in front of match-going fans during the Community Weekends.”

Debbie Cook, Director of Community at the EFL, said: “EFL Club Charities engage more than 1 million people in our communities all year round. To be able to showcase the Club community work as a collective and acknowledge the work of participants and programme leaders -many of whom are volunteers – really shows the scope and impact this vital work plays in supporting local fans and residents.”

The EFL Community Weekends build on the success of the recent EFL Week of Action in November – where the League and its Clubs shone a light on the significant social impact Club community work has on towns and cities in England and Wales. This was valued at over £1.24 billion a season in the latest community impact report found here.

During the 2023/24 season, EFL Football Club charities delivered 438,033 sessions across 801,661 hours with an average of 6,084 sessions and 11,134 hours of support per Club.