Buddies are being urged to throw their weight behind a lifeline funding campaign which – if successful – will see hundreds of vulnerable young people kept fit and healthy this year.
St Mirren FC Charitable Foundation is bidding for £70,000 of lottery funding in order to launch its 2023/24 Fit and Fed initiative.
The programme will see in excess of 500 children from across Renfrewshire offered food and physical activities in every school holiday of the next year. However, it needs the support of locals in order to become a reality.
The charity has been named a finalist in the lottery’s People’s Project scheme which gives the public the chance to vote for their favourite proposal.
If Fit and Fed wins enough votes, it will secure the £70,000 needed to implement the ambitious plan.
Gayle Brannigan, chief executive of the St Mirren FC Charitable Foundation, said: “This is a very unique opportunity for us to secure £70,000. It would enable us to put on free holiday clubs for Renfrewshire families that may be experiencing financial hardship.
“Alongside that, we would provide them with nutritious food, breakfast and lunch, and we would put on parent-and-child activities, as well as workshops around key social themes that benefit the family unit.
“We believe we could help a minimum of 500 people, who could be referred to us, and this support would be for the whole school year so this is a real opportunity to do a lot of good with the funding that’s available.”
Unlike some other initiatives which tackle holiday hunger outwith school, Fit and Fed aims to help parents address concerns around financial hardship wherever possible.
Parents and carers will be invited to attend workshops which will look at issues such as employability, household budgeting, cooking nutritious food on a shoestring and how to look after their mental health.
Staff will also be able to signpost adults to other support services if needed – both those offered by the charity itself as well as their partners such as Advice Works, community pantries and food banks.
Voting on the People’s Project website opened yesterday and closes at noon on Friday, May 26.
Keen to drum up support, Saints staff, managers and footballers will be using the time to encourage Buddies to vote for the Fit and Fed proposal.
Fit and Fed ambassadors will also be at supermarkets and pub favourites of the black and white faithful with tablets and devices that will allow people to cast their vote right there and then.
Members of the men’s and women’s teams will also be out and about in Paisley and Renfrewshire after training to bolster the drive for votes and will be at Morrison’s in Anchor Mills on Monday, May 22.
The People’s Project has also created a video which outlines what the Fit and Fed initiative is all about.
It is available on the St Mirren FC Charitable Foundation social media channels as well as the People’s Project website.
To vote, log on to the people's project website here
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