EFL Week of Action helps shine a light on Club Doncaster Foundation projects

Last week, we were shining a light on a handful of projects and programmes delivered here at Club Doncaster Foundation, as part of the annual EFL Week of Action. 

Here at the Foundation, we’re proud to join other clubs and CCO’s (Club Community Organisations) across England and Wales, showcasing activities that take place within our communities and how our continuous work helps support individuals within the city of Doncaster. 

The recent impact study from the EFL shows the unprecedented scale of this life-changing work, with EFL Clubs and Club charities delivering 54 per cent more community activities and interventions during 2023/24 (890,878 hours compared to 579,712 hours in 2021/22) in response to the increased demand.

It also demonstrated the network generated last year, £1.1bn of social value in terms of return of investment which equates to over 1 million people engaging in provision, with the week of action enabling partners to see what strength the network has across the country.

Monday saw us announce our brand new Fit Rovers course, Fit Rovers Workplace, following the success of the current branches of the Fit Rovers project. The new course will provide organisations the opportunity to support and improve the mental and physical wellbeing of the workplace. Organisations are invited to a free information event on Thursday 5th December, to find out more about the course and be one of the first to get involved. 

Tuesday afternoon, Doncaster Rovers first team players, Luke Molyneux and Jay McGrath were in attendance alongside Club Doncaster Sports College students, as they got the chance to experience what a usual day in the High Performance Centre as a university student, would be like. HPC staff delivered an interactive lesson with students able to use state of the art equipment, first hand, through massages on their peers and individual fitness tests.

Following the afternoon’s activities, our Foundation Fitness gym, based within the Eco-Power Stadium, played host to an exclusive open event for Rovers season members, who were invited to head down to the stadium to take a look at the facilities and meet members of the first team squad. Zain Westbrooke, Ben Close, Bobby Faulkner & Patrick Kelly acted as gym staff, signing fans up to the gym through the exclusive offer and giving guided tours of the facilities. 

To celebrate International Men’s Day, the Fit Rovers team invited participants from Fit Rovers to get involved with a one-off fitness activity session on Tuesday evening, completing challenges with each other to encourage discussions and support, following a mental health workshop. 

On Wednesday, the Sports College ladies academy hosted one of their EFL CEFA home league fixtures, comfortably beating Grimsby Town 3-1 in what turned out to be a very cold day.

Every week, our team deliver football sessions alongside Club Doncaster Titans, a Pan Disability football club, who provide access to football for players with a disability or any type of mental health condition. These weekly sessions provide an opportunity for participants to gain extra football skills from our coaches here at the Foundation. Participants got a surprise last week, when Rovers’ Joseph Olowu & Kyle Hurst turned up to join in with their session. Olowu and Hurst both got involved for the full hour, taking part within the warm up and finishing drill before playing their part in the match towards the end. 

CEO of the Foundation, John Davis spoke of how the Week of Action gives the chance to showcase the work delivered at the Foundation: “It’s a week in the calendar we look forward to every year, where we can hand select a number of projects and activities that take place on a daily and weekly basis here, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. 

“It’s not possible to cover every activity we do during a week, or the countless lives we have an impact on, on a daily basis. There’s numerous activities that take place every single day, seven days a week, which is something we pride ourselves on. 

“The EFL Week of Action gives us the opportunity to showcase some of the activities within our organisation and it gives us the chance to get more fans involved, more people engaged and spread the word of the fantastic work we do.

Sally Jameson, Member of Parliament for Doncaster Central said: “It’s fantastic to see The Foundation shining a light on its work during EFL Week of Action last week. 

“From showcasing its Foundation Fitness Community Gym to announcing the expansion of their Fit Rovers projects in workplaces across Doncaster, the Foundation is offering an impressive array of resources to promote fitness, wellness and good mental health in our community. Particularly against the backdrop of International Men’s Day. 

“I am proud that Club Doncaster is and will continue to be a force for good in Doncaster.” 

Rovers manager, Grant McCann, said: "The work this club and the Foundation do in the community is a huge part of what we are all about.

“It is something us as staff and the players all fully buy into and we relish the opportunity to head out and meet people across the city. 

“The lads speak about the experiences they have had on visits and it means a lot to them to see the sort of impact the club can make."

To find out more about the work the Foundation does, you can sign up to our newsletter here. Alternatively, make sure to check out our social media channels on X, Facebook & LinkedIn. 

If you want to help support the work we do & the projects we deliver, you can donate to the Foundation here, or contact Phoebe.sneddon@clubdoncasterfoundation.co.uk.