It’s been another busy week in the community, as our CITC team brought plenty of football fun and activities to our local community.
City at Work graduation
Based in Preston, City at Work’s seven-week program saw 13 participants graduate last week. The program – which is run alongside MatchWorks – was a great success, helping young unemployed individuals build the skills needed to seek employment and find experience. The program uniting football and job skills for young people, saw the participants learn new skills in improving their resumes and undergoing practice interviews. The football aspect was a key highlight for the participants, as they enjoyed getting out of the classroom and expressing their competitive nature.
Of the 13 participants, three finished the course early due to successfully finding employment.
The Big Issue Street Soccer program
City’s CITC team teamed up with The Big Issue’s Street Soccer program for female participants at the North Melbourne Community Centre.
CITC staff joined members of The Big Issue in the all-female football session which is aimed to promote social inclusion and personal change for women from a range of different backgrounds dealing with homelessness, substance abuse, family breakdown and mental illness.
Healthy Hat Trick visits Debney Meadows Primary School
The students at Debney Meadows Primiary School were visited by the CITC team and their Healthy Hat Trick program earlier this week. The aim of the Healthy Hat Trick program is to educate young children about the importance of living a healthy lifestyle and healthy eating for your overall health and well-being. The sessions include educational theory sessions, where students spend 30 minutes learning about the important of exercise and healthy eating and 30 minutes on physical activity, where football is incorporated to promote the importance of keeping active. Pictured, are the students from Debney Meadows PS enjoying a game of football on a perfect Melbourne’s autumn afternoon.
CITC Iftar Dinner
City’s CITC team hosted an Iftar Dinner at the City Football Academy in Bundoora last week. A number of guests from the local community joined Imam Alaa EL Zokm from the Heidelberg Mosque, Melbourne City FC CEO Brad Rowse and several Young Leaders for the dinner.
Melbourne City FC Head of Community, Sue Crow said: “Our first Iftar dinner was an outstanding success and enabled us to engage with so many local community members in a really meaningful way over a meal. The club is based in an area with a high proportion of Somalis so it is important that we understand and acknowledge the traditions and beliefs of all the communities we work with. This was a perfect example of demonstrating our core commitment to social inclusion.”
