Dear Supporter,
Next week we will be visiting our first Primary School as part of a new community programme. For many years now the Football Club has provided free tickets to schools, however, the time has come to take it to the next level.
I’d like to make it clear that all visits will be led by a qualified coach and somebody the children can look up to. These visits give the club a chance to raise its profile in the local community and it also presents an excellent opportunity to educate children on important matters around sport and life in general.
Leading Thursday’s visit (22/11/2018) will be Chris Whelpdale, a player who has made 337 appearances in the Football League and has maintained an excellent level of professionalism whilst doing so. Chris will be talking about important subjects such as health, teamwork, respect, discipline, persistence, dedication and patience. There will also be some pre-recorded videos, including most of the squad discussing some of these topics which Chris has put together himself.
The presentation is something I’ve been working on for a few months now. It’s not been easy for supporters to see rival teams visiting schools in the Chelmsford area, however, I wanted us to go in a slightly different direction which has taken a lot of planning. Darren Smith has been excellent in assisting with the presentation in terms of the graphics and putting ideas into action, so thank you, Darren!
There are some costs involved and some supporters have already setup direct debits, similar to the 12th Man, but all money received will go towards the community project. If you would like to contribute then please do get in touch. We will also be doing specific fundraisers starting with our Quiz Night next Thursday; this is just £3 per person and kick off is at 7:45pm. The more money we raise, the greater the presence we will have in the local community, so please come and support us.
The next step after our visit next week will be to expand to more schools in and around Chelmsford. I already have some ideas for this and plan to put them into action in the next few weeks. I’d also like to look into the possibility of doing coaching sessions in schools and I feel that this is very achievable with a sponsor.
Thank you for your continued support which has allowed us to make the progress that we have made so far.
Luke Owers, Supporters’ Club Chairman
