Ospreys in the Community and Swansea City AFC Community Trust join forces to officially launch In The Squad project.
After securing funding from the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust, Ospreys and Swansea City will use the power of sport and their brands to engage with veterans across the community. They will work to bring them together to re-connect, improve and maintain their physical and mental health as part of the programme.
Initially, we planned to deliver sport and fitness activities based around football and rugby – including walking football and wheelchair rugby – once a week at local venues.
But due to the ongoing pandemic and current lockdown restrictions, we have decided to take the programme online via fortnightly “stand easy” sessions on Zoom.
The first of these hourly meetings will take place at 10am on Wednesday morning (24th February).
We will be joined by Rob Govier – the Royal Navy’s head of Maritime communications and information systems training.
Both organisations already have close working relationships with mental health charity Hafal and other charities in the area and are now excited to be extending their network to work with veterans’ charities and CICs to ensure clear pathways in and out of the service.
Speaking about the new launch, Community Foundation Manager, Tom Sloane said: “We are always looking at ways we can support our communities and this brand-new project will aim to do just that. We’ve seen a huge success in our Sporting Memories project since moving it online to continue through the pandemic, and we hope that we can start to unite people online with this new initiative.
"Sport and it’s values are proven to bring people together, help combat stress, anxiety and we’re delighted to bring two fantastic organisations together to support our community and local veterans. The sessions are a virtual coffee morning for people who have shared experiences, it gives them a chance to talk to people who understand and may have faced similar challenges or triumphs.”
To register for these sessions, click HERE
For more information, contact katie.ruddock:ospreysrugby.com / caroline@scfccommunitytrust.co.uk
