West Ham United Women’s Lucy Parker helped inspire schoolchildren at West Ham United Foundation’s Healthy Hammers programme during the recent school holiday; an activity which proved close to her heart.
The free programme, also known as Healthy Hammers, provides seven to 16-year-olds with a healthy lunch and activities throughout the holiday periods – a time which is often worrying for those who may otherwise struggle to afford the burden of extra childcare and food.
“I was very pleased with the experience my child had,” detailed one of the parents. “Even more delighted with the West Ham food provisions and gifts. The Foundation staff were extremely helpful, always available to provide assistance and answer questions.”
The scheme aims to prevent hunger, social isolation and sedentary lifestyles with a key focus on the children accessing sessions. However, support is also offered to the whole family through a range of enrichment services such as providing food recipes, ingredients, essential goods, and advice on how to make low-cost meals.
“Visiting these venues, seeing smiles and red worn-out faces, shows the impact this programme and my coaching team have on these children,” said the Foundation’s Healthy Hammers Coordinator Courtney Bullis. “Although we wish these services weren’t needed, unfortunately, we do see the continued need for this type of support. So, to be able to offer this programme for free and also enhance our provision through key partnerships is something we’re all really proud to be part of.”
Over the festive period, the Foundation was able to deliver over 270 hot meals and a total of 60 hours of physical activity to children eligible for free school meals across east London and Essex.
As well as interactive activities, children were provided with workshops exploring topics ranging from racism to mental health. Furthermore, wider provisions featured sessions including financial advice for parents and guardians organised by Necessities UK, information about support services, a cycle training session for children with Bikeability facilitated by Trailnet and various stadium tours.
“We’ve been working with the West Ham United Foundation for two years now,” said Essex ActivAte Assistant Relationship Manager Mel Higgins. “The services they offer have a great impact on the local children and families by providing them with hot food, a safe and warm space to chat and also access to localised support services.”
Having attended similar services growing up, Parker was eager to make an appearance, help out with the activities and answer questions about her background and how she made it as a professional footballer.
She explained: “Growing up for me, I attended these sorts of camps. It’s something my family relied on when I was young, so it’s really important for me to be able to be here and give back to the community.”
Since its establishment in 2017, the Healthy Hammers programme has seen over 20,000 meals provided, with more than 16,000 of these delivered since summer 2020. In addition, thousands of food parcels have been delivered to families in need, with large amounts offered through the pandemic whereby challenges were heightened across our communities.
“It’s massive for me to be a part of the Foundation’s mission to expand the reach and reduce the stigma of accessing these provisions,” Parker insisted. “It’s obviously a very real problem that the country and society is facing and for us to be able to be here and provide this for our local community and help the families in any way we can is huge.”
The visit was part of the Club’s Players’ Project initiative, whereby members of the men’s, women’s and Academy teams regularly spend time working directly with thousands of people from the local community.
“As a programme lead it’s vital to get these key figures [players] down,” said Bullis. “To see someone that has thrived in this environment, who has previously experienced this is really important for them in terms of confidence and future aspirations.
“Programmes like this are crucial to the families we have reached, not only offering them a safe space and a hot meal for the day, as well as wider support, but using the power of football to break stigma and increase aspirations.
“Having players like Lucy wanting to be involved with the Foundation, going out across the community and connecting with people is massive and we are really grateful for the continued support we receive.”
If you are eligible for the Holiday Activities and Food programme for our upcoming half term provisions or would like further information or support, then please get in touch with Courtney Bullis at [email protected]
