Shildon make the most of Trident fund grant

Construction work is currently being completed on an artificial pitch which is central to the ‘community garden’ project, which is set to help the club in their ambition to enhance their status as a focal point in the town.

The club will be hosting schoolchildren over the upcoming Easter holidays as part of their longstanding Healthy Holidays initiative while the newly-installed surface will be provided free of charge for a local school to use through the summer term.

In addition, Shildon plan to introduce soup days to welcome homeless and vulnerable people into the club and provide hot meals, washing facilities and social opportunities.

The new projects have been boosted by a grant from the Trident Community Foundation, part of Northern Premier League partner Pitching In’s multi-million-pound grassroots sport investment programme, and chairman David Dent explained how they would be putting it to good use.

“This grant will help us get those initiatives off the ground, which we’ve been doing ad hoc for a number of years,” he said.

“We will commit to the Healthy Holidays, which the new facility will help with, and we will not be restricted by bad weather or pitch maintenance so we can ramp up the activities for school children.

“We’ll engage with the local schools to give them access to the pitch in the summer term and we also want to get into the help the homeless, helping give them a safe place for a cup of tea and a shower.

“We’ve set up a separate community interest company within the club, which will employ a community engagement officer.
“We’ve always prided ourselves on being a community club and we’ll actively go out into the community to bring people in.”

Shildon are one of more than 40 clubs across the Pitching In Northern Premier, Southern and Isthmian Leagues to have been awarded grants of between £1,000 and £5,000 by the Trident Community Foundation, which is supported by Ladbrokes with the support of its owner Entain.

Having been named the Buildbase Club of the Year while in the Northern League in recognition of their community work, the club are committed to continuing using the power of football as a force for good.

“We’ve been doing what Marcus Rashford has been doing for years,” Dent added.

“I’m from Shildon, grew up here, was fortunate enough to play for the club for a short spell, then moved away from the area.

“I now live 40 miles away in Whitley Bay but I want to put something back into Shildon.

“I’m using the football club as that medium and we want the football club to be a beacon which can inspire people to be the best they can be.

“We’ve been pretty successful over the years and hopefully more people will engage with the football club and get involved with our initiatives. Football is a powerful medium, especially up here.”

Ladbrokes, with the support of its owner Entain, has launched a multi-million pound investment programme, Pitching In, designed to support and promote grassroots sports. For more details see: https://entaingroup.com/sustainability/pitching-in/