Oxford United in the Community is celebrating 30 years of supporting thousands of people across the county, via the power of football.
The football club’s official charity is proud to have reached the milestone and of the many projects delivered that have helped those living our most disadvantaged communities.
Chris Lowes, Head of Operations at Oxford United in the Community, said:
“It’s quite humbling seeing the positive impact the charity has had on communities and individuals over many years. Oxford United is at the heart of the community and that’s why celebrating and highlighting the work of the charity is so important. There are so many success stories behind the scenes and through the Dream Big Campaign we can be even better. The future is very exciting.”
Since forming as one of the first football club community schemes in the country under the stewardship of United legend Peter Rhoades-Brown in 1989 the organisation has continually developed. Thousands of United fans, of all ages, will have fond memories of receiving a visit from Oxford United in the Community when they were at school.
In 2008 the community scheme became the official charity of the football club. The transformation enabled Oxford United in the Community to expand its work and further use the power of football to improve lives and make a positive contribution to the county.
It runs 40 sessions every week and has developed a range of sporting, educational, culture and social opportunities to help people in the local community fulfil their potential. The charity supports thousands of people every year across all ages from two to 85-years-of-age.
And with your help, we can do so much more to inspire the next generation. To mark our anniversary, we are launching a £30,00 fund-raising ‘Dream Big Campaign’. This will enable us to increase our activity and engage and inspire more youngsters to ‘Dream Big’ across the county.
You can get involved by donating via their Just Giving Page and help make a difference.
- £5 – helps pay towards our on-going work in the community
- £15 – could buy a football for community programmes
- £25 – could buy a training top for a community football coach
- £50 - could buy a football bibs for a school
- £100- could pay for a community football coach for a day
- £125 – could pay for 3G pitch hire for a community football session
- £200 – could pay for the community mini-bus for a week
You can donate here via justgiving.com/campaign/OUITC30YEARS
Oxford United in the Community Patron Peter Rhoades-Brown said: “We began this journey 30 years ago when we started a football in the community scheme. We’ve come a long way since then and we all look forward to continuing to improve the work the charity does with so many residents for years to come.”