Boro Boss Sees Impact Of Foundation Work First Hand

As part of the English Football League’s (EFL) Week of Action, Boro’s Head Coach Michael Carrick visited a local school to take part in Ferrero UK’s social responsibility programme Joy of moving.

Michael surprised pupils at Kader Academy in Middlesbrough and took part in a Joy of moving activity delivered by MFC Foundation staff. Sessions like this, delivered on a weekly basis throughout Teesside, educate everyone on the benefits of activity and a healthy lifestyle.

Over the past ten years, Joy of moving has inspired over 600,000 children to move through play and delivered more than three million hours of additional learning in schools.

The EFL Week of Action saw 72 clubs and their community organisations come together to showcase the ways they help improve and positively impact lives through education, health, and inclusion initiatives. Throughout the week, the Foundation highlighted their MatchFIT, Joy of moving, ATF and Roary’s Academy programmes, with Michael commenting: “The work the Foundation do in our local area is really important. They work incredibly hard to provide for our communities. The power of the badge is real and so is the impact the Foundation is making.”

Commenting on the Joy of moving session he attended, Michael said: “The message this programme gets across is really important and the children all seemed to be enjoying themselves. That’s so important, they will learn a lot quicker when having fun. The EFL Week of Action is a great initiative.”

Charlie Cayton, Director of Corporate Affairs and Communications at Ferrero UK, added: “Getting children moving can have a positive impact and encourage them to lead active lifestyles in the future.

“By moving more children, we want to make a positive difference to how they feel about physical activity and hope to inspire long-term lifestyle habits.”

For over a decade, the EFL’s charitable arm, EFL in the Community, has developed and delivered Ferrero UK’s Joy of moving programme, with the support of club community organisations like MFC Foundation. The delivery of the unbranded programme includes in-classroom and physical activity-based learning for children aged 9-10 and festivals similar to traditional sports days, encouraging movement through simple and engaging games.

These children are part of more than one million people who engage with club community activity each season.

“We’d like to thank Michael for taking the time to come and join in,” said the Foundation’s Amy Neil, who, as an activator with the Foundation’s Education and Employability department, delivered the session. “The whole school seemed to enjoy his visit and the way he spoke with everyone and engaged with the children was great.”

Families can explore the Joy of moving online Resource Hub for access to free games and activities they can enjoy at home. To learn more about the Joy of moving programme and access free resources, visit www.joyofmoving.co.uk

If you want to know more about our Joy of moving delivery, please e-mail enquiries@mfcfoundation.co.uk