Helping young people “make good decisions in their lives” is at the heart of a new programme launched by St Mirren FC Charitable Foundation. ConnectSport's Calvin de Villiers spoke to the Foundation’s Community Development Manager Martin Cavan about the 'Gamechanger' initiative and its aims.

The Charitable Foundation of St Mirren Football Club recently launched its 'Gamechanger' programme, which works with local schools to help pupils reach positive destinations including further education and enhanced employability.

Gamechanger achieves this through a combination of physical activity programmes, interactive workshops and supportive role models, with four main objectives at its heart. These are:

     i) a focus on positive mental, emotional and physical wellbeing

     ii) helping students develop teamwork, leadership and decision-making skills

     iii) exploring future pathways for students who partake in the programme with a focus on further education and increasing employability

     iv) supporting students in acquiring accredited awards.

The Foundation’s Community Development Manager Martin Cavan (pictured above left) explained how the programme materialised.

“Gamechanger is a brand-new project for us and something that means something to me personally,” he explained, describing how early intervention was at the heart of the programme.

“Early intervention was something that I was always keen for us to get involved in because there’s a lot of issues around poverty, food poverty and mental health in young people.”

DISCUSSION

When designing the programme Martin approached a local high school, and after some discussion they came up with a list of 13 S2s and S3s who the Foundation could support.

“That’s essentially 13 and 14-year-olds,” he explained. “They wanted us to give a vision of what their futures could look like in terms of employment or education.”

Martin describes how the Gamechanger project fits into the wider purpose of the club’s foundation by providing pathways.

“I felt as though there was a gap in that kind of age and scope in what we are doing,” he reflected.

PATHWAY

“Pathway was a good word for me because something we have introduced recently is a bit of crossover in the programmes.”

Martin further explained that any young person who completes the Gamechanger programme will be approaching 16 years old, and could therefore join other programmes too.

“We say ‘Why don’t you go into the 'Off the Bench' employability programme, if you’re not too sure what you’re doing? Or if you need a bit of support for your mental health we can put you on one of those programmes’.

“It’s about giving them that pathway in the wider community and giving them an understanding that every decision they make and everything they get involved in impacts somebody in some way, so you always want that to be positive.”

TARGETED

Martin went on to discuss whether the project is specifically for people from low-socio economic backgrounds, how individuals are targeted for the programme and why the initiative is important for the foundation and club.

“What we rely on is the school making those decisions about who they feel needs targeting,” he adds.

“They are hands on with these kids day in, day out; they know who’s coming and who’s not; they know who is disruptive in their class, they know who needs support.

“When I look at that group it isn’t just people who are from that low-income background. We would rely on expertise and experience from the schools to directly say this is who we would like you to target.”

When focusing on the aims of the programme, Martin explained that positive destinations were at the forefront.

BELONGING

“It’s about positive destinations, and good decision-making. If we’re looking at the wider impact, we’re hoping there’s a decrease in anti-social behaviours and a decrease in truancy.

“You want that sense of belonging, you want them to avoid gang influences and alcohol abuse - all these sorts of things. That’s ultimately what we are hoping for and it’s what we are driving for.”

As for what happens after the programme, Martin reiterates the focus on giving young people “a pathway”.

He says: “Let’s finish school, let’s get some good results, let’s find a role. Can we get them in front of employers? Yes we probably can as well because we’ve made a lot of contacts through the employability courses.

“Securing that pathway is important to me. I don’t want to have somebody for 10 weeks, then say ‘right thanks for your time and see you later’. I need them to see what’s next, what’s next after that and hopefully they start making good decisions in their lives.”

To find out more, visit smfcfoundation.co.uk or contact community.development@stmirren.com

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