The Veterans' Foundation and Manchester City’s charity, City in the Community, have come together to help veterans connect and rebuild through the power of football.
It’s an honour to announce the award of a £30,000 grant to assist the vital work of City in the Community.
Established in 1986, the charity's purpose is to empower healthier lives through football, reaching thousands of people across Greater Manchester each season. It's 22 programmes all sit under one key pillar - Healthy People, Healthy Futures, Healthy Communities.
The Veterans’ Foundation grant will provide £10,000 for the next three years to support the cost of City in the Community's Military Vets Programme, which is part of the Healthy People pillar.
“The funding received is vital in sustaining the delivery of our veterans programme, enabling us to offer consistent support with a strong focus on health and wellbeing." said Niamh Sweeney, City in the Community, Community Inclusion Manager.
"It ensures the programme remains accessible, reliable and impactful for those who need it most.”
The Military Vets programme is an existing project that sees veterans take part in weekly football sessions at the Manchester City Football Academy on Tuesday evenings.
These popular sessions provide a unique opportunity for veterans to engage with each other and enjoy the social and physical aspects which team sports provide.
“The primary objective of these sessions is to play football and everyone who takes part has a really keen interest and play really, really well, but the most rewarding aspect is when you really get to know each individual,” said Peter Bradshaw, City in the Community Outreach Officer.
“To have had to live through these often really tough experiences and then have to integrate back into civilian life is super challenging, so this is when it really gets deep and as a community worker, this is when the sessions get thoroughly rewarding for both parties.
“There is often so much more going on under the surface, and they can be very reluctant to open up, so they need so much support and opportunity to come forward and talk.
“It’s vital to see the person behind the veteran and then a special bond is formed and positive changes follow."
City in the Community also run a weekly Social Action Project specifically for the Armed Forces Community, which focuses on mental health wellbeing through participation in local social projects.
