Trust staff recognised at the Premier League’s ten-year anniversary awards

As the Premier League celebrated ten years of their Charitable Fund, Graham Goodden and Calum McHardy have been both recognised for their pioneering Premier League initiatives during the first lockdown in March 2020.

Graham Goodden – Communities Engagement Manager at Brentford FC Community Sports Trust – won the “Kicks Facilitator” award while inspiring coach Calum McHardy won the “Premier League Primary Stars Facilitator award”.

They were recognised for their intuitiveness and passion for inspiring young people when the pandemic took hold in March 2020:

During this time: Graham delivered more than 600 activity packs to children across west London. The packs included a foam ball, skipping rope, cones and a range of physical/educational resources. Many of the young people who benefited were shielding due to family members being vulnerable or didn’t have access to a garden/communal space. Through these simple but effective packs they were able to stay active at home. Coverage by ITV London News can be found here.

As parents were struggling to home school their children, Calum McHardy was out of the starting blocks and developed engaging online maths and literacy activities. Within days of the lockdown first being implemented, he created a comprehensive online resource kit that used the power of Brentford players and the Brentford crest to encourage pupils to improve their Maths and literacy. For example, the “Active Alphabet” challenge utilised a number of Brentford players to get children to improve their spelling while keeping active.  Through the following weeks, hundreds of children had completed the challenges. Calum’s interview with BBC Radio London – regarding the online resources – can be found here.

Luke Skelhorn, Operations Director of Brentford FC Community Sports Trust, said:

“Graham demonstrated his dedication by working hard to ensure that the Trust continued to support some of the most vulnerable families within our community. Alongside a committed team of staff, Graham was able to deliver the packs on numerous estates within Hounslow and Ealing – raising awareness of the Trust’s commitment to help families with limited space at home.”

Luke Brooks-Smith, Head of Community Sport at the Trust, believes Calum also showed the same dedication and enthusiasm to supporting children and young people. He said:

“Calum’s energy and enthusiasm really came across when he developed stimulating Literacy, Maths and health resources that engaged with hundreds of young people and provided parents with much-needed content during a really difficult time.”

Along with Brentford FC Community Sports Trust, the Premier League is celebrating the incredible impact of football clubs in their local communities as the Premier League Charitable Fund marks its 10-year anniversary. The Premier League provides investment and long-term support to help clubs create lasting change within communities.

For more information about our Premier League funded projects, email us at enquiries@brentfordfccst.com