Community lead Rob Hyneman had the following to say in our programme against Slough Town on Monday

Hello and welcome to Champion Hill!

Dulwich Hamlet has proud history of supporting and fundraising for local charities. Last season alone, the generous supporters of our community club raised over £6500 for charity including over £5,000 pounds for our official charity partner – Redthread. This season we have decided to have not just one charity partner but two. The eagle eyed among you will have noticed the pitch-side banner that went up last week – you will already know who we have chosen!

We are proud to announce that this season our charity partners will be Redthread and Football Beyond Borders.

Redthread

Redthread, who were also our official charity partner from last season, support young people through the vulnerable transition to adolescence, to ensure that they lead safe, healthy and happy lives. Dulwich Hamlet have decided to continue this partnership into a second season as in the current climate of youth violence being so prevalent across London, we feel there is still a lot of important work still to be done.

Redthread began as a youth club in Dulwich back in 1995, and since then has developed into a network of programmes supporting young people across London and the Midlands. Redthread’s projects at King’s College Hospital and St George’s Hospital are local to both DHFC’s Champion Hill stadium and local community.

The Youth Violence Intervention Programme started at King’s College Hospital 13 years ago and today operates eight A&E departments. The youth work team work alongside the clinical staff and meet young patients as soon as they can: in the A&E waiting room, on the ward, or even in the resuscitation bay. This moment of intense crisis, when the young person is nursing a serious injury in the daunting environment of a busy hospital, often alone, can be a catalyst for self-reflection and pursuing positive change – a ‘teachable moment’. After leaving the hospital, Redthread mentor and advise the young person and support them to make long-term positive plans.

Football Beyond Borders

Football Beyond Borders, who have worked with Dulwich Hamlet in previous years, are an education charity. FBB uses football as an engagement tool to provide young people with the opportunity to achieve their goals and fulfil their potential. They do this through their football themed, literacy curriculum which puts a young person’s passion for football at the heart of their education.

The FBB Schools programme, including a range of summer courses, uses the power of football as an educational tool. They support young people who are disengaged at school to improve their behaviour for learning, academic performance and school engagement. FBB work with 600 students at schools across London and the North West and deliver weekly programmes on the pitch and in the classroom as a way to tackle low educational attainment, poor school attendance and challenging behaviour.

Their approach takes a young person’s passion for football and uses it to produce significant improvements in attitude to learning and behaviour for learning.

FBB also have their very own youth-led football media platform (FBB TV) that provides young people from our programmes with the training and opportunities to produce their own media.

Dulwich Hamlet FC is really excited about working with both these charities across the season. We are already planning, alongside the Supporters’ Trust, a number of fundraising and awareness events across the season. The first of these will be a joint quiz night at the DHFC bar in October – we will announce the exact date soon. If you have any fundraising ideas or suggestions, please get in touch!

As always, thank you for your fantastic support and I hope you enjoy the game!

Rob Hyneman
DHFC Community Lead
@DHFC_Community
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.