Foundation
An update from Foundation Director Shin Aujla
One year on from taking on the role of Director of the Shrewsbury Town Foundation, Shin Aujla has provided an update on what's been a busy 12 months for the charity arm of the football club.
Having completed the end of my first year as Director of the Shrewsbury Town Foundation, I’d like to take a moment to reflect on the work we’ve done so far, the progress we’ve made - and to share a few thoughts on where we’re heading next.
As a foundation, we see our purpose as bringing together our STFC football family and the Shropshire community through life-enhancing programmes and partnerships which support those in need, unlock individual potential and create sustainable and positive change across the county.
We are committed to driving this forward and building on the legacy of both the football club and the almost 30 years of this fantastic charity.
First and foremost, I’d like to say a massive thank you. The welcome I’ve received from everyone connected to the football club and its loyal community has been amazing.
I can genuinely say I’ve enjoyed every minute of the past 12 months. And throughout it all, I’ve come to see just how special this foundation is, and to appreciate the importance of our collective support of all those in the community, both on and off the pitch.
I accepted the foundation director role because Shrewsbury Town has always been a community club with the potential for the foundation to do more and to help support more people, both in Shrewsbury and across the county. That challenge was hugely exciting for me.
To give you an insight into my background before I arrived, I have worked in various roles throughout the professional and amateur game.
I volunteered in grassroots. I’ve taken on key roles in supporter groups. And I enjoyed a similar role at the Albion Foundation, the charity arm of West Bromwich Albion.
Ultimately, though, I am a fan who understands what football is about and the powerful impact it can have in helping and supporting the community.
What’s really important for me is strengthening that connection with Shrewsbury Town’s supporters and wider fanbase.
We are trying to support the local community. And we want all Town fans to be part of what we are trying to achieve.
Real Success – Progression for all
We’ve enjoyed real success with a number of the programmes we run over the past 12 months.
Our employability team and youth hub work to help young adults find employment.
I’m delighted to say the service we offer is now widely seen as one of the best in the EFL – with lots of clubs having made contact with us as they look to replicate what we do.
All the credit for that has to go to our team who do a wonderful job helping young adults to progress into work.
During the past year, the team has delivered over 3,400 hours of mentoring across the borough as well as supporting over 250 young adults looking for work with 90+ gaining local employment and another 30 gaining qualifications or training.
The team are so passionate about what they do and that enthusiasm is really helping people and changing lives.
Because we have such wonderful facilities at Shrewsbury Town, our community hubs – which support participants' health and wellbeing – are going from strength to strength.
The hubs primarily focus on people with dementia and Parkinson’s disease but we also provide support for frailty and our ageing community. By helping people with movement and exercise we support individuals to age well and continue to live a fulfilling and healthy life for longer.
These services not only help individuals, but they also help the support network around them. We support those in our community who care for others and understand it’s not easy caring for someone.
The team have delivered 62 group sessions during the year and supported over 150 participants and carers from all walks of life; From foster-carers to those rehabilitating from ill health, our Hubs really provide a safe and supportive space for each and every person.
Our team are always here if someone wants to pop in for a coffee or just have a chat.
Real success – Education for all
I’m also very proud of the work Shrewsbury Town Foundation is doing in schools.
It’s so important that we get out into local schools and make children feel part of the football club.
We run programmes in both primary and secondary schools.
The aim of these sessions is to engage with children and young adults and, through the power of sport, have a positive impact on their education to help them build confidence, resilience, leadership skills and a sense of support within their local community – OUR local community.
The team has done some great work over the past year engaging with 3,000 primary students across 16 schools within the borough and 300 secondary school students.
Our College and University programme offers BTECS in Sport and Business and also two or three-year degree programmes with over 120 students registered with the foundation. At the end of the last academic year we are proud that our pass rate was 100% with 65% of our students achieving a Distinction or Merit.
And I’m delighted to say I’ve seen so many of our students come through those courses and gain volunteer opportunities that have then led to paid work. Last year we were able to provide work experience for 42 students from the programme.
I’m also very proud to say that a large part of our workforce at the foundation is made up of students who have completed those courses.
They have managed to secure jobs with us to help the charity grow and develop.
From the moment I came in, the big message I wanted to relay was that Shrewsbury Town is more than a football club to our community.
Real success – Football for all
The Foundation does so many things you wouldn’t expect a football club to do.
But we also play football too!
At the foundation we have a wonderful provision for walking football – enabling anyone over the age of 40 to keep playing the beautiful game.
We were also very proud to launch the girls' pathway, allowing more girls to play recreationally and develop their skills.
On top of that we also have the Emerging Talent Centre which is acting as an academy for the Shrewsbury Town Women’s team.
Our girls football pathways have seen us deliver over 100 sessions to 150+ players with 120 sessions in the boys pathways engaging with over 400 players.
We are also passionate about inclusion through sport providing opportunities for individuals with disabilities. Participants attending our ‘Shrewsability’ activities are growing each week, and we’re now engaging with over 50 players.
Overall, I am immensely proud of the work that has been done over the past year – with some key objectives having been achieved.
We needed to bring the foundation closer to the football club and to the academy – which we have managed to do.
We also had a turnaround in staff. And we have managed to bring in people who care about the community and who want to make a difference.
It’s so important to get the right people in the right roles and we have done that. We have built a workforce that really reflects our values.
Now it’s all about looking forward. We feel we have made great progress over the past year but that is just the start.
We want fans and supporters to be proud of what we can achieve together on and off the pitch.
To do that, though, we need to build stronger relationships with our corporate partners.
We also want to work much more closely with the local authority.
And we’d also like more Shrewsbury Town fans to get involved with the foundations as supporters, volunteers and ambassadors.
We are a registered charity, so we do need more funds to be able to make an even greater impact.
But I’ve been so struck by the strong spirit that runs through this football club – which I’ve really seen on match days.
It was a tough season, but the atmosphere generated in the stadium was something really special.
Stronger, Together, Forever
Our motto is Stronger, Together, Forever. If there are any Shrewsbury Town fans out there who want to get involved with the community side of the football club, please get in contact via the foundation’s website.
There is a lot of work we want to do – work that is about engaging, developing and inspiring everyone connected to the football club and we would love for you to be involved.
I’d like to thank all of our dedicated team that help make such a positive impact within our community and I’m extremely proud of all the work they do. The football club and academy have been excellent too, together we will make a difference.
Finally, a big thank you to our Board of Trustees for all their continued efforts, guidance and support and for providing me with an opportunity to take up the role here at Shrewsbury Town Foundation.
