Richard Luscombe Argyle Community Trust is proud to launch the Impact Report for the 2024/25 season – a season which saw momentous growth and diversity for the official charity of Plymouth Argyle Football Club. The report showcases the incredible work carried out to provide opportunities to all people across Plymouth, Devon, and Cornwall by inspiring and empowering them through sport.
The report demonstrates the commitment of the charity to delivering impactful and accessible opportunities highlighted through work in six key strands – Education and Employment, Facilities, Participation, Health and Wellbeing, Disability, and Community Engagement.
The report also looks at the real-life impact stories of some of the individuals who have flourished because of this charity and community outreach work – creating life chances, improving health and wellbeing, and removing barriers to participation.
During the 2024/25 season, the Trust has:
- Delivered a staggering 1,049,668 contact hours across all provisions, targeting support for those most in need.
- Supported 101,218 local people aged between four months and 100 years.
- Delivered 12,693 hours of educational and employment support to raise aspirations and support people back into employment.
- Dedicated 2,381 hours to fight health inequalities.
- Facilitated 718 hours to bring local people together to overcome isolation and loneliness.
- Supported people to lose 1,734kg of weight through our health programmes.
Through the dedicated data and impact team, this support has been targeted to those most in need. 52% of participants are in the most deprived areas, meaning provisions are accessible to those who need them most.
To maximise impact in the community, provisions are designed and structured according to research and data, which sets out short, medium, and long-term aims. The impact is measured, in part, by the numbers and demographics of participants and time spent engaging with programmes. Positive outcomes attained by individual participants are also measured.
Trust Chief Executive Officer Mark Lovell said: “I am proud to see the release of this report. It is a testament to the hard work of our staff who have been providing opportunities for the people in the communities we serve to become empowered and aspire to reach their goals.
“Our charity and its reach are unique, and to be working with so many partners across two counties demonstrates the passion we have.”
The 2024/25 season continued to be an incredibly successful year for awards for the charity, achieving national recognition by winning the divisional and overall Community Project of the Season at the 2025 EFL Awards for ACTing with Children, a groundbreaking project in Cornwall supporting children with a parent in prison. Further nominations were achieved at the Football and Sports Business Awards.
There were also some major milestones for the charity. March saw the opening of our brand-new, state-of-the-art sports, wellbeing, and community hub – The Hub at Foulston Park, delivered in partnership with Plymouth Argyle, Plymouth City Council, Plymouth Albion, and Devonport Community Leisure Limited. The Trust also launched a new hub in Sherford as part of a vision for a vibrant, active community.
A proud Mark Lovell added: “I am truly excited to see what opportunities lie ahead for the Trust, especially at the new community health hub we have developed in the city of Plymouth. It will be exciting to reflect and see what additional impact we will make for our community in the next 12 months.”
You can download a PDF version of the Impact Report here to see the data and participant stories that show the profound impact Argyle Community Trust, Plymouth Argyle, and sport in general has had on changing lives and improving life chances in our communities.
You can support our work in the community through our JustGiving page https://www.justgiving.com/charity/pafct.
