Richard Luscombe Argyle Community Trust has been awarded a grant from the Plymouth Argyle Supporters Training and Development Trust to go towards grass roots and junior football.
The PASTDT is a charity who focus on grant giving in the field of providing support for football related community training facilities for young people in the South West.
The charity historically provided football training sessions for young persons, in connection with Plymouth Argyle Football Club before becoming a grant giver. Recently they have recognised that Argyle Community Trust has similar aims and objects to their own and feel that the Community Trust is better placed to deliver these opportunities.
John Coker, Secretary of PASTDT said: “The Trustees of PASTDT have decided the time is right to wind up the charity and to donate all the charity’s remaining funds totalling approximately £210,000 to the Argyle Community Trust to enable them to continue to develop their excellent programmes for youth football in the south west.”
Mr Coker continued to state that the Trustees felt that the Argyle Community Trust were in the best position to gain maximum benefits from the remaining funds, given the excellence of ACT staff employed and the wide range of programmes organised, and that this transfer would best meet the original aims of PASTDT:
“The Trustees are delighted to be able to support the Argyle Community Trust and enable it to enhance its already tremendous charitable work. The Charity Commission have been fully consulted over the arrangements put in place and the donation has been carefully legally structured so that all those who have contributed to PAST&DT over many years can be confident that the funds will be used to continue helping young people across the south west to participate in sport and develop their skills.”
The funds can be used for football at grass roots level and junior football aimed at young people between 5 – 18 years old.
The Community Trust intend to incorporate this within their current schools and community programmes, especially in areas of deprivation explained Head of Community, Mark Lovell: “This will be in the form of holiday courses, development, progression centres, schools’ festivals and disability provisions for all the young people involved. This would in no way be for professional or academy players and would be open to all young people who have a desire to participate in community football.”
The funds will enable courses to be accessible for all and will ensure that people will have the opportunity to participate within football and its wider context. Through the fund Argyle Community Trust will sustain and expand football operations whether this is in schools, locally at clubs, development centres or more targeted work such as girl’s only clubs and disability specific programmes.
Mark Lovell said: “We are honoured and touched by the generosity of Plymouth Argyle Supporters Training and Development Trust and both organisations are passionate about the development of young people in education and sport and this will enable opportunities for all genders and abilities to be involved within football across Devon and Cornwall.”
For more information on our programmes running weekly throughout the year, please visit www.argylecommunitytrust.co.uk
