Introducing Argyle Community Trust

MUCH MORE THAN JUST A FOOTBALL CHARITY

To many, hearing the words ‘Plymouth Argyle’ automatically takes them to a place of professional football on a Saturday afternoon, and a packed out Home Park Stadium. However, to others who may have been directly impacted by Plymouth Argyle’s official charity partner, Argyle Community Trust, they will have a deeper understanding of what the football club truly does throughout its local communities in Devon and Cornwall. Whilst it continues to grow in popularity and recognition, Argyle Community Trust remains one of Plymouth’s best kept secrets.

Trading since 1992, and registered as an official charity in 2007, Argyle Community Trust are the official charitable partner of Plymouth Argyle Football Club. They use the power and unique reach of football, sport, and movement to inspire, engage and help individuals to achieve their full life potential. They use their affiliation with Argyll, alongside a variety of sport and education initiatives, to support individuals from all populations and try to break down potential barriers to engagement. Whether that be poor health and well-being, low levels of education attainment, experiencing high deprivation or unemployment, or a disability, they try to deliver weekly sessions to level the playing field. Their overall aim is to help to build and sustain stronger, more resilient communities.

£1 could fund a healthy and nutritious meal for a child in need

£10 helps us provide sessions to support the elderly through bereavement or our wonderful armed forces veterans

£5 allows a child with a disability to attend a holiday course

The charity is a visions and values-led organisation, operating within a set of strategic aims (Empowering People, Inspiring Supporters, Promoting Physical Participation, Understanding and Measuring Impact and Improving Our Systems and Structures). Whilst sport and movement are at the heart of their local delivery, neither is used in isolation. Instead, the power of the football club, and the diverse output, is used to engage, educate, and inspire participants from all walks of life.

The charity covers over 3000-squared miles and supports communities from the Isles of Scilly, Penzance, all the way across to South Hams and Torbay. They have regional offices in Camborne, Launceston, Bodmin and three in Plymouth and deliver sport, education and well-being sessions to local people who often find accessing opportunities problematic. With over 90 full-time staff, and a team of 100 sessional coaches, there are very few local neighbourhoods where this charity isn’t driving positive change.

Whilst of course they have a staff department full of sports coaches who delivers a range of PE sessions, holiday camps, after-school clubs, and holiday hunger programmes, they are incredibly passionate about celebrating the broader range of work that their skilled staff team undertakes. A typical week will see Argyle Community Trust deliver a range of bereavement and dementia cafes, veterans support, mental health interventions, youth mentoring, work readiness courses, food aid and fuel poverty outreach and a wealth of sessions for people with disabilities.

Dwain Morgan (Head of Business and Impact) shared “I’ve been working for the charity for over 10 years now and the change in what we do daily is remarkable. Whilst we are very fortunate to have Argyle as a partner, we are always keen to celebrate how much more we do than just sport. The fact that we now deliver over 170 different sessions a week, for people from all walks of life is both incredibly rewarding, however, so scary that it is actually needed. We focus much of our work in local communities that we know experience the greatest level of deprivation. We pride ourselves on delivering sessions that are low or no cost, and that are themed around growing people’s confidence, resilience, and overall feeling of self-worth. We are passionate about getting people both community and work-ready through supporting their personal development through having fun and meeting new people. If they’re enjoy talking about sport, well that’s a bonus!”

Argyle Community Trust’s shift away from being a sport-orientated organisation to a health, wellbeing and community development charity is further reinforced by their commitment to helping drive down food and fuel poverty, and social isolation through their latest initiative, Project 35. Project 35, in partnership with Ginster is a landmark social action initiative aimed at reducing poverty through a comprehensive campaign of fundraising, awareness raising, social outreach, food donations, education, and charity support.

The Project’s titular number, 35, represents the percentage of children in Plymouth reported to be living in poverty in some wards of the city, according to the most recent (2019) pre-pandemic data. For Argyle Community Trust, Project 35 is not just about raising awareness though. It is also about taking action. By partnering with Ginsters - a nationally renowned food business who share Argyle’s community-focused values, they use the power of all things Argyle to deliver a large-scale social impact campaign to support those who are experiencing food insecurity.

Last year, Argyle Community Trust supported nearly 70,000 different local community members and delivered over 50,000 hours of community sessions. This year, they are ambitiously targeting a 25% increase in their output as a direct response to the cost-of-living crisis. Whilst they remain somewhat in the media shadow of their parent club, Plymouth Argyle, they are continuing to grow their local recognition through responding to some of the South West’s most prominent local issues.