How the Foundation of Light responded to COVID-19

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DIGITAL AUDIT LOCKDOWN 2020

Foundation of Light

BACKGROUND

The cross-section of people we work with is unparalleled within our community; we work with those aged 18 months to 80 plus years and offer something for everyone; with programmes impacting on health, behaviour, attitude, skills, knowledge and much more.

Our team of teachers, health workers, coaches, family learning officers youth workers and support staff work with up over 40,000 people across the north east every year.

Whilst we are linked to Sunderland AFC, we are structurally and financially independent from the football club and responsible for fundraising £4million each year to run our lifechanging programmes.

We have strong relationships with key local stakeholders – City Council, Police, health services – and deliver our initiatives based on need as demonstrated by local statistics.

ADAPT & INNOVATE

As a result of COVID-19, we suspended all of our sporting activities at our Beacon of Light base on March 18 and in line with government guidelines, followed instructions for non-essential staff to work from home.

Our priority at this time was to ensure we could continue to work with our existing participants and partners as well as supporting the local community .

This is when #FoLFightsBack was born - as the team looked for new ways to engage with people through our programmes and provide support where we could while everyone was told to stay safe at home.

OUR RESPONSE

FOOTBALL IN THE COMMUNITY -

Over 8,500 engaged with weekly challenges set via YouTube to encourage people to stay active while staying safe at home.

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Staff volunteered at Sunderland Foodbank; working over 240 hours to help deliver food packages across the city.

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400 youngsters from the Player Development Centre were provided with homework – as a reward they got the chance to have online Q&A sessions with SAFC players

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25 schools were sent resource packs to help them continue to deliver PE sessions.

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Online FIFA tournaments allowed kids to keep in touch with each other during lockdown.

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50 kids took part in our first-ever virtual holiday courses hosted on Zoom

OUR RESPONSE

SKILLS -

Tutors developed 15 brand-new free online courses for those who on furlough or unemployed to learn new skills .

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100 sign-ups to new ‘Isolation to Education’ courses within the first few weeks of going live.

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Over 300 hours delivered remotely so over 100 existing learners can continue their courses.

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Alternative activities introduced to courses to allow parents and children to participate in sessions from the safety of their own home.

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Classes provided based on the national curriculum and teaching low-income families how to cook healthy meals on a budget.

SPORT & WELL-BEING

OUR RESPONSE

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Elderly members of our community were supported through regular calls and of WhatsApp messages. SAFC director David Jones also reached out to members, personally calling 45 fans.

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Our FIT BLACK CATS programme, in partnership with the EFL Trust, continued to run via a Facebook group and saw each member lose an average of 5kg each.

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‘Sit and Be Fit’ exercise videos were made available through YouTube to help older people stay active at home.

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Schools were supported with work packs sent out each week.

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SAFC-themed activity packs were produced with Premier League Primary Stars and made available to download.

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Our mental-health awareness programme collaborated with NUFC Foundation to produce a special ‘Be a Game Changer’ video and developed a survey which will help support people adjusting back to working life post-lockdown.

INFORMAL COMMUNITY EDUCATION

OUR RESPONSE

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Inspired by BBC Children in Need over 1,500 engaged with inclusive activities, posted each day on our Facebook page.

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Our disability dance group were able to stay in touch via weekly Zoom sessions, with different themes each week.

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Youngsters from our YOLO programme, ran in partnership with Northumbria Police, were kept engaged through weekly WhatsApp tasks, such as poster making and limerick writing!

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A 30-Day keep fit challenge was set to those on the ‘Get Set to Go’ initiative, as well as members of Your Health and Hopewood Park Hospital.

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The challenges were a great resource for the Washington Mind partnership and videos were used by the Cumbria, Northumberland and Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust.

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Daily activities posted in the NCS Facebook group, reached over 100 young people.

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Kicks members took part in weekly online quizzes via Zoom.

OUR RESPONSE

EDUCATION - 50 hours of full-time online education delivered to 114 pupils aged 16-19.

- Home fitness programmes devised for futsal and football players - including HIIT, running and cycling.

- Introduced a 'Coaches v Players 5k Run' challenge.

- Delivered our first-ever virtual open evenings via Zoom to showcase our programmes to school leavers.

- Hosted an online forum for five secondary schools, sharing good practice for delivering remote teaching and learning support.

REACTION & SUPPORT

REACTION & SUPPORT