AFC Totton in the Community

While Jimmy and the Stags have been doing well in the League and having good cup runs on the pitch, there has been a lot of activity taking place off the pitch with local community and charity groups and schools.

We have recently applied and been successful in obtaining charity status so we can further develop our charity and community side as AFC Totton in the Community (Charity no. 1206854).

We have Community Boards up in the corridor of the main clubhouse opposite the Stag bar. These will be continually updated with events and information for those using the Club. If you are involved with a community group and/or have an event please feel free to display your poster on the board.

We have also recently signed up to the Warm Welcome Campaign so our Clubhouse is on the map as a free, warm, welcoming and friendly space. A great place to connect with other members of the community and make new friends.

If you are a regular AFC Totton programme reader, you will have noticed that we have been highlighting local charities and fundraisers across the season, as well as having awareness stands and bucket collections taking place around the ground.

Your support has been fantastic and wanted to take this opportunity to highlight and update on some of the charities and fundraisers that have taken place. THANK YOU all for your kind support! It really makes a difference to those in our local community. So far this season we have supported the following: -

• The Chris Nicholl charity match and fundraiser held at AFC Totton and organised by the Saints Archive Administration team raised a staggering £5,500 - Chris has since recently sadly passed but he really enjoyed the charity match for the Chris Nicholl Trophy on that sunny day in August.
• Sean Whelan’s fundraiser bike ride, London to Brighton Cycle 2023, which has raised £1,451 through the Just Giving Link for Prostate Cancer
• Jegan, Walk the Test in support of Headway, Southampton – Headway Southampton which raised £1,181
• Oakhaven – Do it for Oaktober Campaign, a wonderful £187.00 was collected through their bucket collection as well as having banners up on the day. Oakhaven Hospice
• Charity Golf Day held in support of the Alan Ball Foundation – Text ALANBALL to 70085 to donate £3.00 - https://alanballfoundation.org/
• Supported Breast Cancer awareness in the programme, linked with Communities against Cancer & Coppafeel - CoppaFeel! | Check Your Chest | Breast Cancer Awareness Charity
• Go Pink, organised by Ron Atwill, we organised a piece in the programme and promoted the Prevent Breast Cancer Just Giving Page - £620.00 was raised through Just Giving
• The Poppy Day appeal was featured in November and our Totton Veterans formed a guard of honour on our Remembrance Day match against Hungerford Town. Are you a Totton Veteran and wish to join their Facebook group, https://www.facebook.com/groups/670955807051661/ 
• GamCare – In recognition of Gamble Awareness week we invited GamCare into the stadium, who set up an information stall - https://www.gamcare.org.uk/
• Following a life changing accident, local lad Jake Allen’s Appeal was set up to help the family raise funds to fund a house adaption to enable Jake to come back home - Crowdfunding to help fund Jakes house adaptation on JustGiving
• Being the home of the STAGS, it seemed appropriate to give a shout out and raise awareness of our friends at the British Deer Society during one of our December matches – The British Deer Society (bds.org.uk), are based in Fordingbridge and raise awareness and training about wild deer and the issues surrounding them.
• Maggie’s Southampton came in to the stadium in January with awareness banners and undertook a bucket collection - £104.00 was raised toward the work they do in supporting those with cancer Maggie's Southampton
• The Flutterby Fund - this charity is very local on our doorstep in Cadnam and supports children who have a wide range of different physical or mental disabilities from 0-19 years of age. https://www.theflutterbyfund.com/ £110.00 was raised and they have just opened their new centre.
• Sailability - Our friends on the other side of Testwood Lakes Sailability - Home provide sailing opportunities for those with disabilities, all provided by volunteers. Thanks for your generous support they raised £137.75 towards their sailing sessions and gained a new volunteer.
• Honeypot Children’s Charity - www.honeypot.org.uk Did you see bumble out the front of the Snows Stadium? Honeypot works with young carers in the New Forest area. They raised £192.83 at the Snows Stadium.
• Simon Says - SimonSays Another local charity supporting those bereaved children across the region. They had a bucket collection and raised awareness of their charity during the Tiverton Town match. On May 25th they will be holding a charity match at the Snows Stadium against the Ex Saints - one for your calendar. The day starts at 10am-4pm with a 1pm KO - lots of family activities and things for the children to do.
• Read Easy, Southampton were featured in the Bracknell Town programme - Read Easy Southampton are locally based and with volunteers offer free, one-to-one coaching to adults who want to learn to read. Since 2021 they have helped dozens of adults with their literacy skills. With 1 home league match remaining Families Matter will be the charity for the Merthyr Town match.

Alongside this we have also been engaging with all the local schools, Jimmy has been attending assemblies and we have offered out free tickets for the children and young people for some of our cup games, where there has been a great takeup by The Stags of the future.

As well as charity match day promotion we have also supported local fundraisers, providing tickets and small items of merchandise.

With the charity status AFC Totton in the Community now has the opportunities to do more fundraising and apply for grants to further promote, develop and make accessible our Youth Development teams and academies, Pan Disability Football, LGBTQ and our Walking Football teams.

f you know of a local charity, group or fundraiser that is taking place, please contact us at taradoel@afctotton.com and we can see how we can work together to promote and support the activity.

by Tara Doel
Charities and Communities Manager for AFC Totton