Read Rob Hyneman's programme notes from Saturday's game against Billericay

Hello and welcome to Champion Hill!

Today we welcome two groups of young people from our local community. Firstly, we have the children and families from Alleyn’s School here today as part of our free tickets for schools scheme. They are also providing the mascots for the match. This is what the school had to say about their visit:

“Alleyn's Junior School is very proud to be supporting Dulwich Hamlet this afternoon. Thank you for inviting our families to come and watch and we hope that many become fans for years to come. All the best to the lads in the match against Billericay”.

We also extend a warm welcome to a group of children from Westminster House Youth Club. WHYC is one of the oldest youth clubs in the country. From the very early days of the Boys Club in Napier Hall to the modern Youth Club they operate in Nunhead today, the Club has always worked with young people amongst the most deprived and disadvantaged in the country. This is what they had to say about today’s opportunity:

“We are very excited to be at Dulwich hamlet FC today and so grateful to the club for offering our young people the chance to watch some live football. To find out more about the Club please watch the following film made by Antonio Ribeiro”

Welcome to both groups – we hope you have a great day at Champion Hill!

At both Dulwich Hamlet FC home games this weekend (men’s today and women’s tomorrow), we are proud to be supporting the Wrap Up London! Campaign. We are collecting any unwanted winter coats which will be redistributed to local charities and community groups who directly offer support to people who are homeless, refugees, older people, people fleeing domestic violence, and those at risk through living in poverty. This November sees the 9th year of this London wide campaign. For people facing crisis, the impact of receiving a coat can go further than just keeping warm. The coats collected by Wrap Up London offer a real opportunity for positive change. When a person at risk makes contact with a charity to collect a coat they receive practical help from that organisation and have the opportunity to accept ongoing support to change their situation long-term.

Looking slightly further ahead, we have also put in a date for our next Walk and Talk event. Building upon our very successful walk prior to the pre-season friendly against Crystal Palace, we have identified our home match against Welling United in February as an ideal fixture. Further details will be released in due course but the plan is for Welling and Dulwich fans to come together to walk from Welling to East Dulwich prior to the match. The walk is designed to raise awareness for mental health and male suicide in support of the CALM charity (Campaign Against Living Miserably).

I hope you enjoy the game!

Best wishes,

Rob Hyneman
DHFC Community Lead
@DHFC_Community