In response to the issue of children from low-income households being less likely to have organised experiences and nutritious meals during school holidays, Notts County Foundation have again provided support during the winter break.
Since the influx of investment into the HAF programme by the government in 2021, we have supported young people from Nottinghamshire in providing them with enrichment activities, food and local connections. This year, despite the low numbers, the young people got to participate in a variety of sporting activities and social interactions which will have given them great memories and experiences such as Badminton or Table Tennis.
Notts County Foundation partnered with Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club and Nottingham Wildcats to provide the participants with extra activities and a greater knowledge of sports they might not have had an interest in before. Nottinghamshire CCC delivered Cricket workshops where the young people had the unique experience of learning the ropes from qualified coaches. Nottingham Wildcats, Nottingham’s Women’s British Basketball League team provided training which the young people enjoyed. Who knows, the next Michael Jordan may be here in Nottingham!
As a Football Club Community Organisation, we could not have provided HAF without football activities. We utilised Meadow Lane’s state-of-the-art indoor 3G pitch within the Haydn Green Family Stand to deliver football training sessions and 5-a-side matches for the young people, which proved to be a big hit. Staff versus participant matches were one of the children’s favourite moments of the programme.
Once again, the great people at Guru Nanak’s Mission supported the programme by providing healthy and nutritious food for the participants. Chickpea curry and Bolognese are two examples of some of the meals on offer which the children devoured. Hammam, one of the participants, said that the pasta and Bolognese was his favourite of the whole programme and that he even went back for seconds!
Notts County Foundation Coach Alysia Johnson said “HAF was fun and enjoyable for the participants that came along, as we did a variety of different sports. The different activity providers engaged the participants well through games and teaching them new skills too!”
Despite the low numbers, the coaches and participants made Winter HAF 2022 a fantastic experience for all and we look forward to the next!
