The Premier League Inspires Challenge empowers participants to take on a social action project and make a difference to the world around them.
This season, young people were tasked with raising awareness of mental health and wellbeing in their communities. Newcastle United Foundation representatives developed a project to raise awareness around school through developing a scheme of work to be delivered to all students across the academic year focussing on the 5 ways of well-being (Be Active, Connect, Keep Learning, Take Notice and Give). Students also created pin badges to be worn by Mental Health Ambassadors in who’s role it is in school to ensure that students mental health is a priority.
Alana, who was part of the Premier League Inspires Challenge team for Newcastle United Foundation, said: “I’ve always struggled with my mental health and sometimes I just don’t want to go to school. Being a part of this programme has helped me a lot. I’ve felt better in myself as our group have got on really well and talked a lot.
“Our project is a campaign highlighting the ‘five ways of wellbeing’. It makes me feel good that I’m having a positive impact on people, making them feel better, especially for the Year 7s when they first start at secondary school.
“That period of time was very daunting for me, so I like to help them out. I can understand because I’ve been through the same thing.
“It’s been really nice to come to Wembley, I’ve never been to London before. So just going on the Tube and seeing it all has been a fantastic opportunity. I feel blessed. Looking at all the amazing projects produced by the other teams and how much effort has been put in is amazing.
“This has definitely inspired something in me. I want to work in the police force, but I would like to work on the mental health side as well; helping people to talk. It would be amazing to be there for people.”
Having come up with their mental health social action ideas, Newcastle United Foundation participants joined hundreds of young people at the Premier League Inspires Challenge celebration event at Wembley Stadium last month, where they shared details of their activity with teams of their peers representing 45 clubs from across the Premier League and the English Football League.
Newcastle United Foundation’s Premier League Inspires Challenge team also explored the positive work the Foundation and Newcastle United is already doing to support mental health awareness, including the Be A Game Changer campaign, Memory Café and Walking Football.
This Challenge builds upon the Premier League’s ongoing Inside Matters mental health campaign and the League’s commitment as a signatory of the Mentally Healthy Football Declaration in 2020, which brought together all UK football organisations to help create a mentally healthy environment across the game.
Premier League Charitable Fund Chief Executive, Ruth Shaw OBE, said: “The Premier League and Premier League Charitable Fund are committed to working with professional football clubs, fans, players, communities, and partners to remind everyone that it is okay not to be okay and that it is vitally important that we keep up the conversation on mental health.
“Through the Premier League Inspires Challenge young people from across England and Wales have developed some brilliant ideas to create positive, mentally healthy environments at their football clubs and in school, at home and in their communities.”
Launched in 2019, Premier League Inspires creates life-changing opportunities for young people who have been identified by their schools as needing extra support to engage with activities, helping them to develop the personal skills and positive attitudes needed to succeed in life.
Using the power of football, the programme helps to prepare young people for further education and employment through a series of face-to-face mentoring sessions, workshops and social-action projects.
Newcastle United Foundation began its Premier League Inspires delivery in 2019 and since then has supported1,977 young people through over 3,000 sessions in 22 local schools.
This season, 45 professional football club community organisations across the Premier League and English Football League are delivering Premier League Inspires sessions at their stadiums, in local schools and at alternative educational settings, with partnership support from the Professional Footballers’ Association.
More than 29,000 young people from across England and Wales have received more than 125,000 hours of targeted support through the programme to date.
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