*BS*As part of the club’s efforts to play an active role in the local community, Dover Athletic have appointed Matt Harris as Football Community Officer.*BF*
Matt lays out the club’s plan in more detail to doverathletic.com: “Our key aim is to create an increased sense of wellbeing throughout the local community by developing higher levels of involvement in active lifestyles.
“We believe that sport can help bring people together from a diverse social composition, where without prejudice, we use sport as a hook to help break down barriers and strive to overcome the social difficulties faced by the local community.”
With this in mind, the Whites will be aiming to run a Saturday morning kids sports club and schools competition in the near future, with disability sports events and girls football following suit. With all projects aimed at supporting Dover and the surrounding area Matt added: “The program that we have devised is a project that will offer not only a range of physical and social opportunities, but will also have an educational theme running through its core. All activities are offered to each social group within our widely diverse community with the aim of bringing people together through the power of sport!”
With funding already applied for through the ‘You Decide’ grant scheme and currently awaiting approval, Matt has much confidence in the scheme is already on the hunt for volunteers to help start and grow these projects: “We are passionate about making a positive difference in people’s lives, and are confident in creating an environment that allows all people of our community to partake in social activities – I’m looking for people to help in anyway they can, be it local coaches on a Saturday morning, local businesses to help promote active lifestyles or budding photographers to help take photos – The more support we can get, the bigger it can be. It’s exciting to see where it can go.”
Matt continued: “It’s a fantastic opportunity and a chance to combat some of the difficulties faced by our community. We aim to educate young people and participating families, in not only the importance of leading a healthy and active lifestyle, but also how that can be achieved through easily accessible means. There are lots of things to do in the local area that people are probably not aware of.”
*BS*Should anyone be interested in supporting Dover Athletic’s community scheme, or have any suggestions please email Matthew Harris on e-mail:*BF* *Link1*