True community hero James Stanness recognised on EFL Community Weekend

To mark EFL Community Weekend, Foundation of Light is sharing the story of one of our community heroes, James Stanness.

Building on the success of EFL Week of Action, the Community Weekend aims to show the breadth and depth of Club Community work to match-going supporters across the league.

Local community heroes are being celebrated up and down the country as the EFL, EFL Trust, and the 72 clubs and their community organisations share their inspiring stories.

66-year-old James was first referred to the Wear Together programme by his GP and the crisis nurses after losing his mother, sister, and his two dogs, which all happened within a short time period.

He found himself in a very bad place with an overwhelming level of mental stress. Having followed the advice of the nurses and getting in touch with the Foundation, the opportunities to regularly get out of the house and take part in the Wear Together Hub and Chit and Chat sessions helped James find his smile again.

Foundation of Light staff supported James further as part of their befriending phone calls initiative, where he would receive a call from a staff member for a weekly check in and chat.

Continuing to regularly attend Wear Together sessions, James became a registered volunteer with the Foundation and began supporting staff on the sessions and helping other participants. He then signed up to the Game of II Halves programme to become a mental health ambassador and enhance his knowledge and skills around mental health and suicide prevention.

Now a recognised community ambassador, James continues to volunteer and use his knowledge to help others at the Foundation’s Wellbeing Football sessions.

While the feeling of loss of loved ones never goes away, James has been able to move forward in his life and find happiness with his new community, a community that he plays an active role at the heart of by volunteering to support sessions and as a mental health ambassador.

As well as his mental wellbeing, since accessing the Foundation’s sessions, James has noticed an improvement to his physical health, stating that Wear Together has allowed him to increase his physical activity levels from two days per week of 30 minutes of exercise to three days per week.

Through Wear Together, James has been able to socialise and make new friends, and he proudly represented the programme by walking around the pitch of his beloved Sunderland AFC to say thank you to the community for supporting the Foundation. His commitment was further recognised at our Gala Awards Dinner, where James picked up the Outstanding Volunteer Award. 

James has found his experiences with the Foundation of Light programmes very rewarding and admits that: “without these special people, it would have been a different story.

"Everything I've done I've really enjoyed, I can recommend this organisation to everybody. I totally support it from the bottom of my heart because it has really made a difference in my life."