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A charity with a difference - Wolves Community Trust

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Giving sport lessons to 89 per cent of the city's schools, treating people with diabetes, helping dementia sufferers recall their favourite football memories.

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Not acts you would necessarily associated with a football club.

But this is just a fraction of the work undergone by Wolves Community Trust, the official charity of Wolverhampton Wanderers, writes Wolves correspondent Tim Spiers.

The only organisation of its kind in the country, the trust has now passed the £1million mark (via the 'Wolves Aid' arm of the organisation) in its donations to good causes around the city.

More than 100 charities and groups have benefitted since 2008. And the trust's remarkable charitable operation is getting bigger and bigger.

Its mastermind is Will Clowes.

Given financial and administrative backing by Steve Morgan and Jez Moxey, Will's task is to oversee an operation that is mind-boggling in scale and sees the trust help disadvantaged children and adults from Wolverhampton to Africa.

Helping the city in which it resides is the trust's bread and butter, be in via delivering PE lessons at the majority of the city's schools (often at no cost), or BTEC football scholarships to teenagers who have dropped out of mainstream education, or educating jobless adults to become more employable.

Sports coaches Greg Warren and Marisa Martin with youngsters from Woden Primary School

"It takes so much time and effort. But what we're doing is actually benefitting our city.

"We're trying to make this community a safer place to live, to encourage beneficial change."

As an example of that beneficial changes Will takes me to Woden Primary School in Heath Town.

Three of the trust's army of staff (they have 32 full time and 28 part time staff, as well as 45 volunteers, who can be teachers, accountants, health professionals, administrators and more) are running an indoor cricket lesson.

It's the usual chaotic scene of kids running around incoherently – but as soon as one of the 'teachers' (and they're treated as such) asks for silence, he gets it.

Purposely clad in Wolves paraphernalia ("it's the power of the Wolves badge", sports officer Lee Smith tells me) the staff command respect – and the kids see Wolves staff coming into their school as a treat.

Feedback is given to teachers on how well behaved the children are, while permanent staff from the school shadow the team to pick up sports coaching and PE tips.

The trust delivers BTEC futsal scholarships at Molineux and Compton Park

Back at the trust's Molineux HQ, located at the rear of the South Bank, a class of 16-year-olds are studying hard for their BTEC Level Two qualification in community sport.

These are teenagers at risk of falling out of education.

But the trust gives them a safety net, offering a vital qualification that can often lead into sport, or coaching, or to university.

Will, who must be giving Messrs Moxey and Jackett a run for being the hardest working man at Molineux, takes a breather to outline just how important Wolves Community Trust is.

"It's a certain type of work where we've all got to be really passionate about what we're doing.

"We want to make a difference.

"There's such variation in what we do – there's loads going on all the time, seven days a week 364 days a year, there's always something happening.

"For example we engage people at risk of anti-social behaviour at 11pm on a Saturday night. It's pointless us doing that on a Monday at 3.30pm."

"The work we do never stops."

Players are often involved in helping highlight the trust's work. George Saville and Nathan Byrne recently visited St George's Hub, which helps people at risk of homelessness

It's also unique. Other clubs have similar organisations, but Wolves Community Trust is the only one in the country to regularly make charitable donations, with ring-fenced cash from the Morgan Foundation going direct to projects in need of help across the city.

"We're in a really fortunate position because the Wolves brand has so much power and influence," Will said.

"And whether our people are Wolves fans or not, professional football has a power and influence on people.

"We've got the opportunity to utilise that in a really positive way – and it'd be remiss of us not to.

"That's why we put so much effort in, because it can make a real tangible difference to people's lives.

"This afternoon is our Molineux Memories session. It's for people diagnosed with early onset dementia.

"It takes place in an executive box, or the museum, and it's a talking group for people who are really worried about their condition. What they've got is a shared interest in football.

"We use artefacts from the museum and it triggers memories from things that happened in the 1960s, 70s, 80s, and its fabulous just to sit there, listen, and hear the benefit people are getting from it.

"They're very troubled with their condition, yet they have this slight relief.

"That's what football can do. It's amazing. And hugely rewarding.

"You look at our Sporting Chance disability programme, working with children with some severe disabilities who have got, quite rightly, the same opportunities to take part in sport, represent Wolves in competition, to have a go at different activities.

"Two of our staff that deliver it have disabilities – one is registered blind and one is hearing impaired – so they're fantastic role models.

"I could talk for hours about what we do."

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Wolves Community Trust - in numbers

£1m - donations made to organisations across Wolverhampton

89 per cent - city's schools that the trust teaches in

65,000 - hours spent at schools in the past year

250 - unemployed adults to have gained qualifications since 2010

3,500 - hours spent helping people with diabetes manage their condition

145 - charities supported by Wolves Aid

[/breakout]

Awareness remains an issue for an organisation that is still less than 10 years old.

How many Wolves fans are conscious of the incredible work the trust does across the city?

Wolves have 140,000 Twitter followers. Wolves Community Trust has 3,000.

Tomorrow's game versus Rotherham is Wolves' annual 'focus fixture', and the £1m milestone will be recognised.

But they're not in it for attention, or awards, or praise.

They genuinely want to make difference in a city where unemployment and social depravity are so prevalent.

"I'm very proud of the progress we've made here, from humble beginnings," Will said.

"Football has the ability to engage across all demographics.

"Our opportunities are endless."

Visit the trust's website at www.wolvescommunitytrust.org.uk, follow @wolvescomtrust or find them on Facebook.

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