Palace fans donate more than £50k to help community recover from the pandemic
Money raised will help Palace for Life Foundation support young people in the communities around Selhurst Park with activities, workshops and programmes to help them lead healthy, safe and positive lives.
Crystal Palace F.C. fans have given Palace for Life Foundation a boost of over £50,000 by donating their ticket refunds from matches they were unable to attend due to the Coronavirus. More than 500 Eagles fans opted to donate their refunds to the Foundation and support young people and families in south London worst affected by the pandemic.
Fans and local businesses who have donated appear on our special Supporters Wall of thanks HERE.
During the lockdown, Palace for Life Foundation continued to support the community, using innovative methods like video gaming to stay in touch with vulnerable young people. Our coaches also supported the children of key workers in local primary schools and we played a big part in the Palace Kitchen, where club chefs cooked over 17,000 meals at Selhurst Park for people in need.
We are now pleased to have restarted our community sessions, with our Summer Extravaganza of activities running throughout August. Our free holiday camp and multisport sessions ensure children from 8-18 can access healthy food and stay active during the school break. Running out of Selhurst Park, our NCS programme is offering 15-17-year-olds the chance to take on a social action project and our player development centres have reopened for talented young players to hone their skills.
The generous donations received from Palace fans will help to keep programmes like this running and ensure young people can continue to be supported in the difficult months ahead.
Palace for Life Foundation Chief Executive Mike Summers said: “I cannot thank the Palace fans enough for the generosity they have shown us by selflessly donating their refunds to the Foundation. This money is incredibly helpful to us at this difficult time and will be put good use helping families and young people across south London to recover physically and mentally from the pandemic.
“Although we remain cautious about the future, we are hugely ambitious and want to ensure young people growing up in the communities around Selhurst Park have the very best opportunities to lead healthy, positive and safe lives.”
The recent impact of our programmes has been tangible, with one parent explaining how NCS helped her son who has struggled in the past with anxiety: “I can honestly say that NCS has done wonders to increase his self-esteem and confidence. I witnessed him approaching complete strangers in Crystal Palace Park to explain what they were collecting donations for and why help for mental health was so important. He has even talked about volunteering in the future with your team, with great enthusiasm. Thank you to you and all your team for changing my son for the better, I am so proud of what he has achieved in such a short time.”
We would like to offer our sincere thanks to all of the Palace fans and local businesses who opted to donate their refunds to Palace for Life Foundation. If you would like to make a donation, please click here.