SPFL Trust reveals biggest ever Festive Friends campaign
On Tuesday, SPFL launched their report which reveals the biggest ever Festive Friends campaign.
The report also reveals that community trusts and associated SPFL clubs delivered 2,802 Christmas gift boxes to people in Scotland who were at risk of social isolation and loneliness as part of the SPFL 2020 Festive Friends at Home campaign. The Festive Friends at Home programme has been the biggest ever so far, with an increase of 90.2% of people taking part.
Festive Friends has been running for five years but community trusts and associated SPFL clubs (ATCs) would normally host a three-course Christmas lunch with entertainment for people in the community who may otherwise spend Christmas alone. Due to Covid-19 it wasn’t possible to host Christmas lunches so SPFL teamed up with 37 ATCs to launch a new ‘at home’ version of the programme in 2020.
This new-look initiative brought festive cheer and companionship to people’s homes with deliveries of Christmas gift boxes containing Christmas dinners, snacks, essential toiletries, games and more, from their local SPFL club. The scale of the project meant that volunteers were crucial to help with the volume of deliveries. A magnificent 558 people pitched in across the country to help.
This year’s programme was generously funded by James Anderson and a second anonymous donor, who between them provided £87,700. Importantly, community trusts and SPFL clubs were able to leverage additional funding through local partners to widen access. In total an additional £12,190 was raised. Partnerships were also key to this year’s campaign. Community trusts called upon local partners such as, Tesco, Cyrenians, Penumbra, and the Salvation Army to help with a variety of things from packing, delivery and additional goodies for the boxes. A total of 183 partners were engaged.
SPFL Trust interim chief executive Warren Hawke comments:
“We’re pleased to see the wide-spread support and compassion of community trusts and the associated SPFL clubs. It’s incredible to see how Scottish football has stepped up to help such a large number of those in need.”
“The stories of individuals across the country shine through in the report. It arguably has meant more, reached more and been felt by more than ever before.”
“We’re incredibly grateful for the generous donations from James Anderson and our anonymous donor that have made this possible. It allowed community trusts and clubs to leverage match funding and support.”
“If you’ve been inspired by what you read in this report, and would be in a position to support us in 2021 we’d love to hear from you.”
You can read the full report here.
