Today marks a significant event on the football calendar as EFL clubs celebrate their fantastic work in football communities around the country.
All 72 clubs join forces to demonstrate the impact the beautiful game can have in positively changing people’s lives on this #EFLDayofAction.
Here at Hillsborough, we are proud to partner with the Sheffield Wednesday Community Programme as the charitable arm of the football club.
The SWFCCP work tirelessly all year round to embed its position at the heart of the S6 community and beyond, highlighting key and relevant issues including cohesion, well-being, mental health, poverty and homelessness.
And for the #EFLDayofAction, the Community Programme have submitted the club’s #PassOnPlastic campaign, with the help of star striker Fernando Forestieri.
Fernando recently visited Wharncliffe Side Primary School as part of the programme to educate youngsters on how plastic harms the environment. and in particular oceans around the world.
The excited schoolchildren helped Fernando design a brand new water bottle before putting the livewire forward through his paces with a quickfire Q&A!
The SWFCCP are rolling out the project around local schools, underlining the values of Community Trusts’ status as the largest network of sporting charities in the UK.
Last year alone, the EFL and its member clubs engaged with over 1m people through their charity foundations, whilst investing a total in excess of £80m around football communities.
Forestieri said: “For me, I love to see the smiles on the children’s faces when we go into the schools, it’s a very nice feeling.
“As footballers in their own community, the children look up to the players and to be able to give something back in this way is a very valuable experience.”