Thank you to those of you for attending our first community day of the 2023/24 season. Although not quite the huge event I would have liked to have run, but with 3 weeks to put it together, I feel like the day was a success, even with the Great British Summer having other ideas!
A big thank you goes out to my team of volunteers, for handing out the giveaway bags and balloons as well as tirelessly running the various raffles and children’s tombola, both of which raised funds which will be used to continue our work within the community over the coming season.
The inflatable football pitch, provided and staffed by Holly and Lou at the Football Fun Factory, proved popular and a huge success. Thank you, Holly and Lou, for coming along, we hope to see you again at future events.
The amazingly talented Tracey was providing non-stop face painting for the children and even some of the adults were spotted showing off their painted faces too. Thank you Tracey for all of your hard work.
I was hugely grateful of the generosity shown from local pubs, The Old Endeavour and The Red Lion, for supporting the day with contributions to the Bucket of Booze raffle, alongside donations from supporters of the club.
The re-appearance of Captain Crab was a delight to see as he made his way around the ground posing for photos. I think we need to see Captain Crab more often, however, this is not always possible due to staffing. So, if anyone would like to offer themselves as a potential Captain Crab contender, please drop me an email.
Local band Turmoil played a sensational set in the Centre Spot bar and we hope to see them again soon at Crabble.
Over the coming weeks, we look forward to supporting LDC Care with their activities day up on the Community Training Pitch, as well as being on the lookout for news that the reading packs we have sponsored have been found. The initiative is to keep children reading over the summer holidays and has been organised by the Secret Garden Book Shop. We wish Caroline every success with this project and are glad to have helped give something back to the children of Dover.
With the season almost upon us, work is going into giving your match day experience a more community feel. I have plenty of ideas but am always happy to hear your thoughts. You are after all the club’s community. Any ideas and suggestions can be sent to me directly on vikki.pawley@doverathletic.com
Existing projects currently running are the Happy Feet football sessions, which run every Saturday morning on the Community Training Pitch. Ages 5-10 years play from 9am-10am and ages 11-15 years play from 10.15am-11.15am. Sessions cost £4 per child per session.
On a Sunday morning, Walking Football sessions are held from 10am-11am, up on the Community Training Pitch. These sessions are anyone aged 45 and over. Sessions cost £4.
I will update you all over the next few weeks with upcoming events and look forward to seeing and talking you on match days.
Vikki