Round-up: Action-packed October at Foundation of Light

From term-time delivery to the first holiday courses of the academic year, October proved to be one of the busiest months of 2024 so far at the Foundation of Light

With a range of events, awareness days, and campaigns, here are some of our highlights:

World Mental Health Day

World Mental Health Day took place on 10 October and we took the opportunity to highlight some of our work towards improving the mental wellbeing of our community.

One in four people will experience a mental health issue each year, which is more than 12,000 people in a packed out Stadium of Light.

We highlighted programmes such as the Game of II Halves project and our women’s peer-to-peer support group – Believe.

Ahead of World Mental Health Day, we collaborated with Sunderland AFC on their dedicated mental health awareness matchday when the Black Cats faced Derby County.

This included hosting a dedicated Matchday Fanzone at the Beacon of Light with numerous organisations doing great work across the region joining us on the night to spread their message.

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Business Breakfast spotlights Women in Leadership

The Foundation of Light kicked off the second day of this year’s Sunderland Business Festival by hosting our Women in Leadership Business Breakfast.

Guests arrived at the Beacon to network before hearing from the ‘Women in Leadership’ panel featuring several leaders from organisations within the region.

Attendees were given the opportunity to see the Foundation of Light’s women’s scholarship train on the Beacon of Light’s rooftop pitch and talk to coaches about the programme.

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Black History Month

October was Black History Month, and the Foundation of Light celebrated across our programmes.

From our Primary Intervention Programme students learning about several Black History pioneers to a friendly match between a Foundation of Light Scholars side and the Windrush African Caribbean North-East club, we promoted black accomplishments and anti-discrimination messaging.

We also supported Wear Red Day, Show Racism the Red Card’s campaign, encouraging staff to wear red and raise awareness of the campaign aiming to tackle racism in football and society.

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Female Player Pathway enjoys incredible success

It was a fantastic month for the Foundation of Light’s Female Player Pathway.

At the start of the month, nine former pathway players were involved in Sunderland AFC Women’s 2-1 victory over Sheffield United, including both goal scorers Emily Cassap and Katy Watson.

The next day, Cassap was announced for the England Women U17 squad for the World Cup later in the month. The young Lionesses would go on to progress to the semi-final stage of the competition.

Meanwhile, four current members of the Foundation’s pathway were called up to the England Schoolgirls’ U15 North Squad as part of the England Schoolgirls’ trials.

Ava McAnulty, Lilly Williamson, and Saisha Snowden of Sunderland AFC Girls’ Academy, as well as Amy Colligan of the Emerging Talent Centre, all featured in the trials and will be hoping to represent the national squad.

Foundation of Light promotes Stoptober

Throughout October we have encouraged people to try and quit smoking, promoting the services of our partners – Sunderland Specialist Stop Smoking Service.

We shared the progress already made by the campaign, Sunderland’s proportion of adult smokers fell to a record low of 12.3%, but reiterated that there is still progress to be made – this number is still higher than the national average.

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Students enjoy holiday courses with a difference

Our October holiday courses featured some different activity for our participants.

Children engaged in their usual football, baking, and multi-activity courses at the Beacon of Light and further afield at our outreach centres.

As Sunderland AFC hosted an open training session at the Stadium of Light, participants from holiday courses at the Beacon of Light headed across to watch and even had the chance to meet some of their Black Cats heroes.

Meanwhile, players from our Player Development Programme visited York and Norwich on residentials, seeing new facilities, taking part in training, and playing matches against teams from further afield including York City FC’s Academy.

Estelle Morris speaks at Schools Conference

Foundation of Light trustee and former Secretary of State for Education and Skills, Baroness Estelle Morris of Yardley, attended our schools conference and delivered a talk to head teachers at the Beacon of Light.

On the visit, Morris said: “It was good to see both the professionalism of the Foundation in terms of their presentation, but also from where I was sitting or standing, I could see the reaction on the teachers’ faces, and it was very positive.”

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Elsewhere in October

A group of Year 7 students working with the Foundation of Light were acknowledged at the South Tyneside Mayor’s Award presentation evening.

Our Coals to Goals coordinator, and former British marathon champion – Aly Dixon – completed her first Ironman triathlon while raising over £1,000 for the Foundation of Light.

We recognised National Coaches Day by putting the spotlight on some of the fantastic coaches who work for the Foundation of Light to make a difference to lives throughout the region.