WEST HAM UNITED SUPPORTING THE LOCAL COMMUNITY
This week we were invited to West Ham United’s event at the London Stadium, celebrating one year since the launch of the Players’ Project.
The project has been hailed as the most-ambitious community programme ever implemented by a premier league club, where players from the men’s, women’s and Academy teams have supported the local community.
The event was attended by the men’s and woman’s first teams, and Dame Karren Brady, the Vice-chairman of West Ham United, who explained how the Players’ Project, split into eleven strands, delivers over 30 programmes that span health, education, community initiatives and football development, which engage with up to 50,000 people per year. Each football player acts as an ambassador for a strand of community work, with the Club’s Caption Mark Noble working on tackling poverty.
During the event, Andrew Warburton (Corporate Partnerships Officer at Caritas Anchor House) was invited to sit on a panel alongside Noble and women’s captain Gilly Flaherty, to discuss what the Players’ Project and charities including ours are doing to support those living in poverty and experiencing disadvantage.
Andrew said, “It was fantastic to get to see the sheer scope of the work being undertaken by the West Ham United Foundation and the Players Project. Having the support of a nationally-recognised team like West Ham means so much to a charity like Caritas Anchor House, where our primary focus is on helping our local community.
“In addition to the financial support and donations we have received from both the Foundation and the players themselves, we are proud to continue to be involved in a variety of awareness-raising projects and look forward to building on this relationship over the coming years.”
Baroness Karren Brady said, “The investment that has given me the most the pride and satisfaction is not a financial one. It’s a human one. People giving up their time to help, genuinely changing lives for the better.”
It is clear that West Ham United are successfully making an impact on the local community through their initiatives. We are very grateful for their support, and look forward to working more closely with the club going forward.
Written by Daniel Fajuyitan, Events and Marketing Intern