The Club has launched a new initiative named the Saints As One campaign, in support of our communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is good to see it being pro active in these fifficult times.
Saints have launched this initiative with the following press release and it reveals a very detailed programme of support of the local community, it has to be said that it is quite impressive and Saints should be applauded for this.
The outreach and engagement project has been designed to help fans and members of society who find themselves isolated and vulnerable at this time, as well as educating, entertaining and uniting the Southampton FC family as a whole.
It begins with a commitment to cook and supply 12,000 meals across the coming 12 weeks, for distribution to some of the most affected people in the city and the immediately-surrounding areas.
With large numbers of people left isolated and some struggling to obtain food, the club has partnered with FareShare, the UK’s national network of charitable food re-distributors, to ensure many of those who are vulnerable or at-risk can still gain vital access to hot, well-balanced meals.
Saints will be funding the ingredients and packaging for these, as well as providing an expert team of chefs who have volunteered to work out of the St Mary’s kitchens, producing the range of healthy and nutritious dishes that will be supplied to FareShare, who will then help deliver them to those in need.
Saints Foundation will also be supplying additional volunteers to help across FareShare’s entire operation each day.
On top of this, the club has also pledged a minimum of 1,000 free match tickets for NHS staff and their families once football resumes, as recognition of their incredible contribution at all times, but especially now.
Elsewhere, through the tireless efforts of the club’s charity, Saints Foundation, work has already begun on providing additional support for people in need, while a number of Saints Foundation staff have also signed up to volunteer at charities and organisations across the city, including the NHS.
"WE HOPE THAT THESE INITIATIVES CAN HELP TO MAKE A REAL DIFFERENCE TO PEOPLE IN NEED."
Supporters and the wider community will also be able to benefit from the expertise within the club’s medical and performance science departments in the coming weeks, with a number of resources designed to provide useful, practical health and wellbeing advice.
Southampton Football Club’s Chief Commercial Officer David Thomas said:
"The club and Saints Foundation are both proud of holding a place at the heart of the community, and we are committed to supporting everyone within it at this time, whether that be in person, online or offline.
"We hope through these initiatives that we can help to make a real difference to people in need, while also being there for our fanbase in a variety of ways during these challenging times.”
Saints As One already includes the following activity, and we look forward to providing details of additional projects soon:
- Cooking and supplying 1,000 meals per week for vulnerable members of society, in partnership with the charity FareShare
- Contacting isolated and vulnerable project participants to check on their wellbeing, and provide any additional support as required
- Online exercise videos and printed exercise manuals for older adults to ensure they can remain active while at home
- A series of short, high-intensity exercise videos for youngsters to help keep them fit and healthy in body and mind, featuring their favourite Saints players
- Providing a toolkit of educational resources to help children learn while out of school, including Premier League Primary Stars resources
- Volunteer work with charities and agencies in the city, including Communicare, FareShare and the NHS, through Saints Foundation Staff
- A large donation of fruits and vegetables to the Society of St James, which helps vulnerable adults including those who are homeless
- Celebrating the incredible work of NHS staff in our communities via our digital channels
- A tailored digital output to communicate with, support and entertain our fans
- Targeted communication to supporters via email and additional platforms to provide key messaging, information and engaging content