Rangers Charity Foundation - Annual Review 2022/23

WELCOME TO OUR ANNUAL REVIEW FOR SEASON 2022/2023

IT HAS BEEN A MILESTONE YEAR FOR THE RANGERS CHARITY FOUNDATION AS WE CELEBRATED OUR 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF BEING A FORCE FOR GOOD ON BEHALF OF THE RANGERS FAMILY AND A YEAR IN WHICH OUR WORK IN THE COMMUNITY HAS REACHED AND POSITIVELY IMPACTED MORE PEOPLE THAN EVER BEFORE!

We are a Foundation for: Potential; Healthy Lives; Everyone and Anyone; A Better World; Our Local Community; Giving and Dreams, and we are committed, through these seven pillars, to making a powerful difference for people of all ages.

I would like to share my thanks, on behalf of everyone at the Rangers Charity Foundation to our supporters, charity partners, volunteers, friends, funders and the over 10,500 people we have worked with through our community programmes during the year.

I hope that you will take a moment to read our Annual Review and that you will find it both informative and inspiring.

Connal Cochrane Chief Executive Rangers Charity Foundation

OUR HIGHLIGHTS FOR 2022/2023

1. We delivered 20 community programmes for over 10,500 people of all ages, including our CashBack for Communities – Towards New Futures project which secured expanded funding from Scottish Government for a further three years.

2. We were able to champion and assist a range of local, national and international charity partners, including: Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity; Glasgow City Mission; Bowel Cancer UK; Unicef and a range of armed forces charities.

3. Our friends at the Club have been incredibly supportive throughout the year across all departments – thank you for helping us continue to be a force for good on behalf of the Rangers Family!

4. Our Wider Achievement programme for disengaged secondary school pupils benefitted 130 pupils in 10 high schools – the highest number of schools in a year to date.

5. Thousands of primary school pupils across Glasgow have benefited from a range of tailored educational programmes focused upon health and wellbeing and diversity and inclusion delivered by our inspiring community coaches.

6. We launched an expanded Recovery Drop-In Service and our Get Ready for Sport programme alone reached 98 primary schools across Glasgow!

7. We have continued to arrange for letters of support from first team players to be sent to people affected by illness, bereavement and difficult circumstances and provided Dream Day experiences for those in need.

8. The generosity of our supporters has been exceptional this year! From a record-breaking Charity Ball to our Big Ibrox Sleep Outs, Blue All Over Fun Run, Play on the Pitch, Bears Up Ben Nevis and online auctions and prize draws – we could never make such a world of difference without this amazing support.

9. The first year of our Trauma Counselling Service, supported by the Club, has truly enhanced our ability to provide tailored support to a range of participants attending our programmes.

10. We secured a long term lease of the Ibrox Community Complex from Glasgow City Council, and with the strong backing of the Club, are excited about all the opportunities which revitalising this facility will bring for the Foundation and the wider community.

11. Alongside Rangers Football Club, we continue to be proactive in celebrating and championing diversity via a range of community programmes and the Everyone Anyone campaign.

12. Last but not least, we were proud to celebrate our 20th Anniversary and remember all the incredible achievements and support we’ve received during that time. We are passionate about our ability to make a difference and looking forward to building upon our first two decades of success!

OFFERING LIFE CHANGING OPPORTUNITIES IN EDUCATION AND PATHWAYS TOWARDS EMPLOYMENT

Thanks to the Foundation’s community programmes, thousands of young people are given the opportunity to learn, grow in confidence, improve their employability prospects and identify routes to other positive destinations such as further education and work experience.

Our highly successful Ready For Employment programme offers individualised training to young people and adults over 50 who face substantial barriers to gaining employment or progressing their personal development and 27 participants found a job as a result of the course this season alone.

Our CashBack For Communities – Towards New Futures programme, which aims to re-engage young people leaving prison or with experience of the criminal justice system, also enjoyed excellent outcomes, with 83% of the participants moving on to a positive destination.

As an SQA Approved Centre, the Foundation can offer recognised qualifications and has helped many disengaged students gain valuable life and work skills as well as qualifications through our Wider Achievement programme, which a record 10 schools engaged with this season.

This season, we continued to work with the Department of Work and Pensions - Job Centre Plus via our Ibrox Youth Hub initiative, the first project of its kind in the UK with a football club foundation. This service

provided practical help and support to job seekers via activities such as CV building and interview skills.

Our Hub in the Community initiative now runs in four high schools across Glasgow, seeing each school with a full-time member of Foundation staff on campus to assist with improving attainment and attendance. This year the Foundation hosted its first inter-school Hub Tournament and pupils from Govan High visited Manchester United.

I’m still sticking to all my stuff that I need to do and now that I’ve got a job as well, I’m a lot happier I feel like I’m not just surviving anymore, I feel like I’m living.

Courtney, Cashback For Communities Participant

100% 96 224

PEOPLE WENT ON TO COLLEGE OR FURTHER TRAINING THANKS TO OUR PROGRAMMES

SQA AWARDS WERE EARNED BY OUR PROGRAMME PARTICIPANTS

OF PARTICIPANTS ON OUR CASHBACK PROGRAMME REPORTED INCREASED CONFIDENCE

SUPPORTING CHILDREN AND ADULTS TO IMPROVE THEIR HEALTH AND WELLBEING

Our health and wellbeing programmes target older people, young children and everyone in between thanks to a comprehensive range of initiatives designed to help everyone improve their health.

We run special activities for older people, such as Walking Football and Football Memories, and a variety of school-based programmes for young children focusing on nutrition and exercise, such as Get Ready For Sport and Joy of Moving

One of the Foundation’s most popular programmes is Football Fans in Training, an initiative for adults aged 35 – 65. FFIT is Europe’s leading healthy lifestyle community programme in football and helps overweight men and women improve their fitness, lose weight and train with fellow fans at Ibrox. This season alone 84 adults lost a collective total of over 320kg and 544cm from their waists!

Participants are also given the opportunity to enjoy a free continuation programme, FFIT For Life, which helps them to maintain and build upon their successes from the course.

We have also expanded our provision within mental wellbeing this season by adding an additional ‘football and check in’ session to our Team Talk initiative, as well as continuing with the Changing Room programme.

I became involved in the programme as I had reached almost 26 stones and had to change my life as I could hardly leave the house. FFIT was win or bust for me and thankfully it has worked to change my life. My mental health and outlook on life is fantastic.

William, Football Fans In Training Participant

£111,577 4,900

AMOUNT OF NEW LOTTERY FUNDING RECEIVED TO EXPAND OUR RECOVERY PROGRAMME

CHILDREN TOOK PART FOR FREE IN OUR GET READY FOR SPORT SESSIONS

320KG

WEIGHT LOST BY FFIT PARTICIPANTS THIS SEASON

CHAMPIONING DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION FOR ALL

The Foundation is wholeheartedly committed to championing diversity and inclusion, which is reflected in the programmes we run under our Everyone And Anyone pillar, as well as our wider work.

Our flagship Diversity Wins programme was the first of its kind in the UK when it launched in 2018 and was delivered to 790 primary pupils this season. The initiative, which is run in partnership with Glasgow City Council, teaches P6s and 7s about discrimination and prejudice, stereotyping and employability. There is a focus on the different skills sets required to do different jobs, promotion of equality and issues faced by the LGBT+ community, in line with the school curriculum.

Autism Friendly Football and Visually Impaired Football sessions continue to be of huge benefit to young people who might otherwise be unable to enjoy mainstream football. The sessions provide an opportunity to have fun, become more physically active, develop life skills and raise confidence and self-esteem. Our expert coaches work with the young people to develop their skills and the tailored sessions also provide respite and social connection for parents and carers. This year, our autism football team also went on to win the Autism Scottish Cup!

As part of our collective commitment to diversity and inclusion, Rangers Football Club and Rangers Charity

The best project for children with visual impairments that we have been involved in. It has been a real confidence builder for my son in terms of physical activity and has helped with his fitness and football skills. Fantastic coaches and a close-knit group that is welcoming to anyone who comes along.

Foundation were proud once again to take part in the annual MardiGla event in Glasgow. The Foundation was also delighted to pick up the gong in the Community Ally category at the Proud Scotland awards in recognition of its support for LGBTQ+ equality.

Parent, Visually Impaired Football

998 790 90%

PUPILS TOOK PART IN OUR DIVERSITY WINS SCHOOLS PROGRAMME

OF AUTISM FRIENDLY FOOTBALL PARENTS/CARERS SAID THEIR YOUNG PERSON’S ABILITY TO COMMUNICATE HAD IMPROVED

PARTICIPANTS TOOK PART IN OUR PROGRAMMES UNDER THE EVERYONE AND ANYONE PILLAR

COMMUNITY PROGRAMME

7,373 participants received 2,939 delivery hours of activity under our Healthy Lives pillar

FOOTBALL FANS IN TRAINING

Hugely successful health and fitness programme for overweight men and women aged 35 to 65.

FFIT FOR LIFE

Programme helping those who have completed FFIT maintain and build on their health and fitness successes.

THE CHANGING ROOM

Targets men aged 30 to 64 and works to help participants better self-manage their mental health and support one another.

TEAM TALK

Weekly support groups helping adult men open up about mental wellbeing, build their social circle and raise confidence and coping skills.

RECOVERY DROP-IN

Peer-led weekly session for adults in recovery from drug or alcohol addiction which includes recovery meetings, access to support and a safe space to socialise.

GET READY FOR SPORT

Our early primary years health and wellbeing programme which encourages kids to get active and learn about health.

JOY OF MOVING

School-based programme for 9 -10 year olds which encourages physical activity and delivers nutritional education.

WALKING FOOTBALL

Free programme for anyone over 50 who wants to play football in a safe, non-contact environment.

GLASGOW VETERANS UNITED

14-week support programme for veterans plus a free weekly football session which offers camaraderie and fitness.

FOOTBALL MEMORIES

Helps to improve the lives of football fans with dementia by using football images and memorabilia from the past to aid recall and memory.

Our total hours of cumulative programme delivery over the season equated to programmes taking place hours a day for

24 days 508

2,011 participants received 8,735 delivery hours of activity under our Potential pillar

TOWARDS BETTER FUTURES

Encompasses two programmes - helping school leavers secure employment or positive destination and supporting S3 pupils who have disengaged from mainstream education.

CASHBACK FOR COMMUNITIES

TOWARDS NEW FUTURES

Engages young people with experience of the criminal justice system and supports them in moving towards employment, volunteering or further education.

IBROX YOUTH HUB WITH JOB CENTRE PLUS Initiative to help local young people aged 18 – 24 into work via a full-time Youth Work Coach from Jobcentre Plus based in the Ibrox Youth Hub.

HUB IN THE COMMUNITY

Partnership with four Glasgow schools which sees a Hub Officer based fulltime in school to mentor vulnerable pupils and be a universal support.

WIDER ACHIEVEMENT

Helps young people re-engage with their education by providing access to SQA qualifications and life skills in an empathetic, vocational environment.

READY FOR EMPLOYMENT

Improves the job prospects of local young people aged 18 to 24 who face substantial barriers to employment by delivering an individualised training programme.

COACH FOR TOMORROW

Assisting young people with aspirations within sports coaching to gain valuable skills and experience.

READY FOR HOSPITALITY

Employability course for 18 - 24 year olds specific to the hospitality sector, which includes hands on work experience.

READY TO GET ACTIVE Physical activity programme for children with complex needs

895 participants received 512 delivery hours of activity under our Everyone and Anyone pillar

VISUALLY IMPAIRED FOOTBALL

Free football sessions with trained coaches for visually impaired young people of all abilities, aged 8 - 18.

AUTISM FRIENDLY FOOTBALL

Weekly free football sessions with trained coaches for youngsters aged 5 – 16 on the autistic spectrum.

DIVERSITY WINS

Project for P6 and 7 children focusing on discrimination, prejudice, stereotyping, equality and employability.

BUILDING POWERFUL PARTNERSHIPS ACROSS GLASGOW, SCOTLAND AND THE WORLD

The Rangers Charity Foundation supports charities locally, nationally and globally and has donated £6.3 million in cash and in-kind support to date to a range of worthwhile causes.

The Foundation has worked with the world’s leading children’s charity, UNICEF, for 14 years, helping children across the globe via projects focused on education, health and emergency relief. This season’s support included a donation of £30,000 to support UNICEF’s response to unfolding emergency situations in Pakistan, Turkey and Syria.

We supported our National Charity Partner Bowel Cancer UK with a donation of £25,000, but even more importantly, helped the charity to spread lifesaving messages about the signs and symptoms of bowel cancer. With 90% of people surviving who are diagnosed early, knowing the symptoms really does help significantly in the fight against one of Scotland’s biggest killers.

The Foundation has also continued to support local partners, helping Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity bring the magic of the festive season to the wards by funding Christmas trees and decorations, as well as a special Safe Space bed for children with developmental and learning needs, thanks to a £10,000 donation.

Glasgow City Mission received £23,000 from our Big Ibrox Sleep Out events, taking our total donated to homeless projects to over £317,000 to date. The donation supported the charity’s Overnight Welcome Centre, offering a safe, warm space, hot food and support to those who would otherwise have to sleep on the streets.

We are incredibly grateful to the Foundation for their generous donation and support for this season-long partnership. Awareness of bowel cancer symptoms in Scotland has increased by nearly 10 per cent since last year, and we know some of this is due to the Foundation and the Club’s amazing family of players, fans and staff who have championed this lifesaving campaign.

Genevieve Edwards, Chief Executive at Bowel Cancer UK

The Rangers Charity Foundation has a long and proud tradition of working with services related charities and, along with the club, holds a Ministry of Defence Employer Recognition Scheme Gold Award. This season saw us support three Armed Forces charities through our Armed Forces Fund, making donations totalling £15,000 to SSAFA, Poppyscotland and Combat Stress. To date, the Foundation has donated an incredible £241,000 to services-related charities.

MILLION

MAKING DREAMS COME TRUE FOR THOSE WHO NEED IT MOST

The Foundation was delighted to be able to organise our famous Dream Days in person again this year following COVID-19 postponement last season.

We organised a special Dream Day experience in July 2022 for 10 nominees and their guests to attend the Rangers Training Centre where they had the chance to meet the First Team and Manager, enjoy an exclusive autograph session and watch the squad train.

Our annual Dream Fund Christmas party was also a particular highlight. Children living with life limiting illnesses and other difficult circumstances enjoyed meeting Rangers star Ianis Hagi.

Our Dream Fund Matchday Experience in 2023 was an experience to remember for our guests who came along. The day also included a tour of the Trophy Room and every guest received a signed matchday programme as a keepsake, as well as photographs from throughout the day.

It is great for us as players to have these days. It goes a long way the support we get from the fans and it’s great to be able to give something back and put a smile on people’s faces who are going through a tough time.

Ryan Jack, Rangers FC

LETTERS SENT TO THOSE IN NEED OF A BOOST, FROM A FIRST TEAM PLAYER

NOMINEES HAD A DREAM DAY EXPERIENCE WITH THEIR FAMILIES

CHILDREN ATTENDED A SPECIAL DREAM FUND PARTY AT IBROX STADIUM

BEING A GOOD NEIGHBOUR BY SUPPORTING AND WORKING WITH LOCAL PEOPLE

Being a good and trusted neighbour is important to the Rangers Charity Foundation, and we are proud to be playing an active part in supporting our local community.

We continue to be active in the Govan Thriving Place collective whose aim is to improve the quality of life for people who live and work in the local area with the Foundation’s Chief Executive chairing the Learning for Life and Work theme group.

We again provided funding to assist young people in the Drumoyne area in receiving packed lunches over the school summer break. We also delivered our Festive Friends Christmas lunch at Ibrox which was attended this year by 90 local senior citizens where they enjoyed a three-course meal, Christmas bingo and a performance from St Paul’s High School choir.

Through a partnership with HIS Church, a charity with a focus on providing food and supplies to those who need it most, the Foundation was able to provide organisations including Maslow Community Shop, Govan HELP, Govan Youth Information Project (GYIP), Elder Park Housing Association, Ibrox Foodbank, Safety Awareness Glasgow and Govan Community Council with essential pantry, hygiene and clothing supplies.

Over the course of the 2022/23 football season, we held two of our own matchday foodbank collections at Ibrox which benefitted a total of eight different foodbanks.

Govan HELP would like to say a massive thank you to the Rangers Charity Foundation and HIS CHURCH for the very generous donation of a pallet of food which will be used to help stock The Govan Pantry. This will help so many families using our service who are struggling to meet the weekly cost of food.

Viv Sawers, Chief Executive, Govan HELP

ENABLING OTHERS TO SUPPORT CAUSES AND PEOPLE CLOSE TO THEIR HEARTS OTHERS AND CLOSE TO

Over the past year we responded to 1,889 requests for support from people raising money for a wide variety of worthwhile causes.

Thanks to our discretionary grants fund, we were able to purchase two generators to help Ukrainian people who were without electricity to enable them to light and heat their homes during the ongoing conflict. Partnering with Strips4Malawi, we distributed clothing to different academies across the East African country.

Ukrainians face a huge problem of lack of electricity due to shelling of civilian infrastructure by Russia. The country has huge problems with electricity, communications, the Internet, and heating. By donating a generator, football clubs are showing solidarity with Ukraine and supporting Ukrainians in this difficult time. Your help is not only a donation of electrical energy, but a donation of humanity, love and hope.

Inna Khmyzova, Director of Shakhtar Social CO

1,417

MATCH TICKETS WERE DONATED TO GOOD CAUSES VIA OUR TICKETS FOR GOOD INITIATIVE

33

WHEELCHAIR USERS WERE ABLE TO ATTEND IBROX THANKS TO OUR WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE SPACE

£163K

IN-KIND SUPPORT DONATED 2022/23

FUNDRAISING

Simply the Best Supporters

We simply couldn’t deliver all the work we do in the local community and beyond without the generous support we receive from our fundraisers. From attending our events and buying our merchandise to running, climbing and sleeping out in the cold, our supporters really do go above and beyond for the Foundation!

Just some of our fundraising highlights this season include –

• Our Charity Ball celebrated 20 years of the Foundation and raised a record breaking £113,000!

• 180 supporters took part in our Big Ibrox Sleep Outs at Ibrox and raised £47,000 for the Foundation and our Community Charity Partner, Glasgow City Mission.

• The club donated limited edition first-team player shirts which were auctioned and raffled to raise over £18,000.

• Our hugely popular Play On The Pitch event returned with 120 supporters enjoying the ultimate playing experience at Ibrox, raising an unbelievable £41,685!

• 265 participants enjoyed our 5K run around Ibrox Stadium (whilst being covered with red and blue paint!) at our Blue All Over Fun Run, raising over £17,500.

• Our Bears Up Ben Nevis – Double Dutch edition climb was a fantastic day out for over 90 fans and raised over £30,000

• We sold over 7,800 items of merchandise over the course of the season, including special Mother’s and Father’s Day cards, Father’s Day keyrings, Christmas Cards and pin badges.

The Foundation’s charity partnership to raise awareness of bowel cancer prompted me to travel from Dublin in June to the Ben Nevis Challenge, as cancer claimed both my parents. It was a fantastic and super wellorganised day. Luckily the skies stayed clear for a great cause and a chance to meet many new friends, both on the climb and later for ‘recovery’ in the bar at Fort William Shinty club!

John, Bears Up Ben Nevis Participant.

1,390

PEOPLE TOOK PART IN OUR FUNDRAISING ACTIVITIES

£353,578

AMOUNT RAISED BY OUR INCREDIBLE SUPPORTERS!

366

SUPPORTERS BECAME TRUE BLUE HEROES

ThankYou

The Rangers Charity Foundation would like to thank all our supporters, partners, volunteers, sponsors, funders and of course, everyone at Rangers FC for everything they do for the Foundation.

Our wonderful work is delivered tirelessly throughout the year by a team of dedicated and talented staff.