Palace royalty Dougie Freedman, Grace Williams and mentee Jesse join latest Investors Club event
Sporting Director Dougie Freedman, Head of Women’s Football Grace Williams, and Palace for Life mentee Jesse joined Palace for Life Chair Ed Warner for the first Investors Club event of 2024.
The fourth event saw current and prospective members of the Investors Club gather in the backdrop of True Global in Victoria, London, for a peak behind the curtain of the ins and outs of the role of a Sporting Director, and the secrets of the recent success of the Women’s side and the squads’ hopes for the future.
Taking to the stage between Dougie and Grace was Jesse, a mentee on our mentoring programme who has come a long way since joining us. Investors heard Jessie’s story, from hanging out with the wrong crowd to regaining his focus, getting into employment, and his hopes for the future. Jesse was joined by Targeted Intervention Manager, Sarah, who gave the audience an introduction to the one-to-one mentoring work we do for youngsters with challenging or complex life experiences, who may be vulnerable to exploitation and criminality, social isolation and exclusion or have mental health needs.
Jesse, a mentee on our one to one mentoring programme and Sarah, Targeted Intervention Manager
She explained how our experienced mentors work on a one-to-one basis with individuals to help them gain insight into how to think about their their options to make better decisions for a more positive future – all under a safe environment.
The Investors Club is a group of incredible Palace fans who are supporting our transformative work in south London by making a donation of at least £1,000 a year towards our efforts to provide free sports sessions to help youngsters with their mental and physical health, one to one mentoring support for individuals at risk of getting involved in knife-crime, violence or anti-social behaviour and supporting young people with their career opportunities.
Events like this give like-minded Palace fans the chance to chat about their club, and get some exclusive know-how from experts in the world of football, whilst hearing about the direct impact their donations are having on the lives of young south Londoners.
Without giving too much away, Palace’s Sporting Director Dougie Freedman shared stories of his time as a player and a manager at the club, reminiscing on the ups and downs of life as someone with one of the most high-pressured jobs in the game, as well as some fascinating insights into his ethos when it comes to the Palace philosophy and identifying transfer targets for the club.
Palace for Life Chair, Ed Warner and Palace Sporting Director, Dougie Freedman
Palace Women’s latest senior management recruit, Grace Williams, who joined us from Bristol City less than a year ago, spoke on her experience of her compelling career so far, this season’s success with the Women’s side, and why she chose south London as her new base.
Ed and Head of Women’s Football, Grace Williams
This event was the fourth in a series of Investors Club events over the last two years. Since the Investors Club launched in 2022, we have heard from Under 18s Coach Rob Quinn, The Athletics’ Senior Crystal Palace Writer, Dom Fifield, witnessed a live version of The Price of Football Podcast with Kevin Day and Kieran Maguire, and enjoyed a deep dive into the world of analytics and academy insights with Lane Clark & Peacock and Academy Director Gary Issott respectively.
By joining the Investors Club, either as an individual or as a business, you’ll be making a direct impact on the lives of young south Londoners, We rely on generous funding from Investors like you to ensure we can both continue to reach young people who need our help and help even more youngsters in our community.
For more information on the Palace for Life Investors Club, head here.
If you, or someone you know is interested in joining the Investors Club, please get in touch with Molly.