Foundation Awards Community Champions

Last week's home fixture against Cambridge proved to be a busy day off the pitch for the Foundation with several activations being delivered by Foundation staff. 

Kicking off with the EFL’s annual Community Weekends, taking place across the weekends of 22-23 February and 1-2 March 2025, celebrating the impact of Clubs Community work throughout the EFL Leagues. 

It is through the use of the Club badge and Football; Clubs and their charities have the ability to engage with a wide range of the community of Crawley and engage with those to support them on their personal journeys. 

On Saturday, the Community Weekend provided an opportunity to not only highlight the work and commitment of the Foundation, but to recognise five Community Heroes, all selected for their impact they have in a variety of ways through the Foundations activities. 

The five Community Heroes nominated by the Foundation included Billy Lewis, Derek Russell, Mike Day, Josh Thornton and Sophia who were the deserved recipients of the Community Hero Award and collected their award pitchside prior to kick-off on Saturday, along with a video and commentary being played to all in the stadium, relating to their personal journeys since accessing the Foundation. 

As well as a busy pre-match 3G ballcourt, packed with young people accessing a football session before the match and the delivery of a matchday birthday party, the Foundation along with Holistic Wellness Community and Menshare, Crawley provided information to fans on Wellness and Mental Wellbeing with all three organisations promoting the services they provide to support the local community of Crawley, with over 200 fans speaking to representatives from each organisation. 

This matchday activation was part of the Premier League Fans Fund and the Foundations programme One Club: One Community, which provides opportunities for Clubs to strengthen connections with fans and local communities, as well as supporting fan-focused and fan-led projects to help foster a sense of belonging, especially with underrepresented groups including Women & Girls, LGBTQI+ communities, Disabilities and Diverse Ethnic Communities, where we are seeking to further develop and foster inclusive and welcoming matchday experiences for all. 

If you are interested in finding out more about the Fans Fund, please contact Darren Ford, Head of Foundation: darrenford@crawleytownfc.com 

For all other Foundation activities, please go to our website: www.ctcommunityfoundation.com or social media platforms: @CrawleyTownCF