Family Cricket Fun Day 11th June 2022 (possibly extending to further events dependant on success of first)

The aim of this event is to Increase awareness and hopefully participation in cricket in Gourock/West Greenock and Inverclyde in general. This will give newcomers to the sport an opportunity to try something new and even join a local community club.

Our club's constitution requires Inverclyde Cricket Club to be open to all ages/sexes/religions/ethnicities and currently have a good spread of members. We have a junior section for 8 to 15 year olds who are coached by our fully disclosed junior committee, with senior section dealing with over 16 year olds - oldest member is currently 72. As we recover from the COVID pandemic we hope to take cricket out into the community as we had been doing several years ago, to schools and the likes of scout and Boys Brigade groups. The initial event interest planned for 11th June 2022, but we hope that interest generated by the event will lead to more events for all ages, which could involve the full cricket season through to the end of August 2022.

Auchmountain Halls Fun day

The fun day will be take place at the end of our 4 week play scheme, creating an opportunity to bring the whole community together. Working with other organisations in the area will help encourage as many people as possible to attend but also help plan the event.

The event will be held at Auchmountain Glen, weather permitted. If not it will be held within Auchmountain Community Centre. A Community Celebration where we will have a Children’s Entertainer, Burger Van, Face Painters & Goody Bags. This event will bring people together as the event is free of charge and open to everyone, all age groups, meeting up with old and new friends and breaking down barriers of isolation.  Connect and reunite the community and strengthen the bonds between them, this hopefully will help improve mental wellbeing and alleviate personal struggles. At the event, there will be:

• Children’s Entertainer                      
• Burger Van                                      
• Face Painter                                     
• Goody Bags
• And More........

We would like to collaborate to run a number of events and community campaigns throughout May 2022 to “Break the Stigma” on mental health whilst raising awareness of the support available within the community. Both charities have successfully managed to combine the communities love of football and its need for mental health support and this proposal links both together to continue that journey together.  

• Event 1 would be a young person focussed mental health football tournament for 11 to 14-year-olds within the community to come together and play at Cappielow for the “Break The Stigma Cup”. There would be opportunities for young people to connect with break-off Wellbeing Sessions in the stadium and mental health awareness sessions.
• Event 2 would follow a similar pattern but would be for adults within the community who may be struggling with their wellbeing who would come together and form teams to compete for the “Break The Stigma” adult cup. There would be a number of adult-led community groups available for chats within the stadium to support the adults attending.
• Event 3 would be a week-long campaign for both charities to co-produce content with members of their services to mark mental health awareness week and the importance of breaking the stigma on mental health. This would include the distribution of campaign merchandise such as a specific Football Jersey for Breaking the Stigma and other items to raise awareness in the community,
• Event 4 would be a continuation of the young person focussed tournament into the following 6 weeks with a Friday evening “Break The Stigma” session ran within the community.

We believe that these events will help the community come together on a subject matter that is hugely important. We know that the pandemic has exacerbated mental health for a lot of the residents in Inverclyde and that having an opportunity to connect with such vital projects throughout the month of May could be crucial to help them access support that they may need. We know that the people who come through our doors are struggling with a variety of trauma-related conditions, battling addictions, mental health conditions, or experiencing suicidal thoughts. We also know that connecting these people with others who have lived-experience can be life-saving. Our football projects in the community have been able to connect with people who wouldn’t normally present at mental health services, and we believe this month-long celebration of our work will only support more people. We have gained vital feedback from parents through pilot projects running supporting young people and know that the need is there to raise awareness for our young people on mental health to help break the stigma for future generations. We also know that connecting young people with football is a great avenue to begin these conversations and believe that this event and the follow-up sessions could contribute to a stigma-free society within the area.

We want to host these events throughout the month of May, traditionally where Mental Health Awareness Week falls within the UK. The theme for this year is Isolation and Loneliness which we know is a huge factor towards creating and fostering the stigma attached to mental health.