Whitsun School Holiday Camp (NOW FULL)
30th May - 2nd June (Tuesday-Friday)
Book early for Summer
School Holiday Fun Multi-sport Camps for local youngsters
The Whitsun Camp is now full, with over 40 children registered to attend from next Tuesday.
Working alongside other providers, especially the Metropolitan Police, the Trust has provided activities for over 550 children since Easter 2022. The feedback from all concerned has been excellent across the board and the Trust will operate during both Whitsun Half Term (4 days) and the Summer (4 weeks).
NB If you have received a sponsored invite to the Whitsun Camp from either Hunters Hall or William Bellamy Schools, you must register your chid(ren) by 0900 tomorrow (Monday 29th May). Only registered children can be admitted on Tuesday. Please arrive between 0945 and 0950 each day and be ready to collect your children at 3pm in teh afternoon.
If you would like to sign up your child(ren) for the Summer camp (£50-5 days), please click HERE
Graham Gooch at the Daggers
Ex England and Essex Cricket Legend Graham Gooch at Sporting Memories Thursday 18th May
Ex Essex and England cricket captain and ardent West Ham supporter Graham Gooch was our guest speaker at Sporting Memories on Thursday 18th May. Graham was welcomed to the event by the Deputy Leader of the Council, Councillor Saima Ashraf and proceedings were chaired by Arfan Akram, the East London Cricket Operations Manager for Essex County Cricket Club.
Graham talked about his amazing career, filled with memories and anecdotes spanning many years, teams and countries. Graham spoke about many things, from his days at school through to the modern game. From Valentines Park to the MCG in Australia and from Sir Len Hutton through to Ben Stokes.
An audience of circa 60 people hung on every word as Graham recounted so many different stories over a full ninety minutes. He answered questions about his infamous pair in the first test against Australia, his iconic 333 runs against India at Lords in 1990, the rebel tour of South Africa in 1992, and many more.
Towards the end of the visit, Graham presented our 66 years young Sporting Memories Organiser, Brian Tunney, with his recently passed ECB Foundation Coaching Course Level 1 Certificate and his Community Award from Essex Cricket in the Community.
The Sporting Memories project is operated at the Daggers by the Daggers Trust in co-operation with Sporting Memories, LBBD and Essex Cricket in the Community.
The weekly Sporting Memories sessions run every Thursday in the Clubhouse from 10.30 until 12.00. Anyone over the age of 50 is welcome to attend. Refreshments are free of charge. It is an opportunity to make friends, relive old memories and just have a bit of fun. Just turn up on Thursdays and join in.
Sporting Memories
Working with the LBBD, Sporting Memories and Essex Cricket Club in the Community, the Daggers Trust has been operating free 'Sporting Memories' sessions every Thursday at the club from 10:30-12:00. The group numbers have been growing and the Trust is pleased to announce that it is to receive funding to continue in the future. The sessions are run by Brian Tunney from Essex CCC.
The sessions are open to anyone aged 50 or over, male or female and provide an opportunity to meet, talk and make friends. The conversations are not always sport based. Free tea and coffee are provided. No registration just turn up and talk.
Why not pop down and see us on Thursday?
We look forward to seeing you.
Daggers Trust in East and Southern Africa
The Daggers Trust has a close working relationship with many local community organisations and recently gave a selection of surplus football kit and equipment to one of those partners, the Powerhouse International Ministry based in Oxlow Lane, Dagenham.
Pastor Ade Adesina from Powerhouse International has been visiting local communities in Zimbabwe and members of a local community in a small village called Epworth took part in the Dagenham and Redbridge FC tournament and development sessions between 27th and 30th April.
This is the third time that youngsters in Zimbabwe have received kit and equipment from the Daggers Trust, twice through Powerhouse International and once though the On the Rock Ministries based in Marks Gate. Previously, children from Kenya benefitted from 17 sets of Scotland strip which were donated by the Scottish FA after ex-Dagger Craig Mackail Smith played for Scotland against Cyprus.
Powerhouse International organises the annual Run4Life (Dagenham) and you may have seen their many banners attached to railings around the Borough prior to this year’s event which was held on 2nd April.
Guards of Honour 23-24
National League fixtures are likely to be published in the first week of July. At that time we will open up applications for the whole season.
In the meantime, if you would like any further information, contact:
Time flies when you are having fun
As one gets older, you become aware of how quickly time passes. Only this morning I reminded myself to put the bins out tonight for emptying tomorrow. It only seems like I did that a couple of days ago. I heard that when you are a young child, the six weeks’ holiday appears to go on forever because it makes up a significant part of your short life. Whereas, as one grows old, six weeks is just a very small fraction of your very long life.
It seems years ago (Three in fact!) since we went into total lockdown and the Trust was closed down completely for several months, even though some activities did manage to restart, it was on a restricted basis and the second lockdown made things even worse. It was some considerable time before we could move back into normal operation, but COVID had taken its toll. Several of our regular part time employees left when furlough payments stopped, and either schools were reluctant to take in ‘outside’ staff when they eventually returned, or we didn’t have the staff to send to those who were more relaxed.
That was over a year ago and I am pleased to report that in spite of all the setbacks, the Trust is back up and running and providing even more opportunities and activities for members of the local community, both young and old. With the ongoing support of external funders particularly the Premier League Charitable Fund, the National League Trust, and Essex Cricket in the Community we have been to offer a growing variety of activities throughout the year. Over the last two weeks we have held eight days of multi-sport school holiday camps for children at May and Bakers Sports Ground, accompanied by many officers from the Metropolitan Police. Over 160 children aged 5-14 applied for places and were encouraged to ‘Step outside their comfort zone’ and develop their soft social skills, including making friends, communication, target setting, as well as just having fun. Each child received a certificate from Digger the Dog, met the Daggers First Team and were given a free ticket voucher for today’s game. The funding for these activities was provided by the NL Trust, the Social Prescribing Community Chest and the in kind support from May and Bakers. These camps have taken place every school holiday and been extremely well received. Four days of activities are planned for the Whitsun Half Term (End of May, beginning of June). If interested, please register your child/ren now by visiting our website www.daggerstrust.com
Every Thursday morning, under the leadership of Brian Tunney from Essex Cricket in the Community, our regular group of over 50’s has met for 90 minutes to chat, play games, have a cup of tea and a biscuit, make friends, enjoy each other’s company, and have fun. Next month the group is looking forward to being joined by ex-England and Essex cricketer Graham Gooch. Anyone over 50 is welcome. Just turn up at the Clubhouse on the day.
Three coaches are working at three local schools during term time, offering girls’ only football, multisport and lunchtime activities. As the Trust trains and develops more local coaches, we hope to increase our presence in local schools. The Trust is grateful for the support it receives from the Barking and Dagenham Schools’ FA who were represented at the recent NL Trust Under 11 Cup at Boreham Wood by boys and girls from Northbury and Ripple (Westbury) Schools.
With funding from the NL Trust and in-kind support from Goals Dagenham, the Trust runs regular fun football sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays, during school term time, for boys and girls aged 6-18. Over the coming months, these youngsters will be invited to attend drop in sessions at the Club covering a variety of topics. In conjunction with Essex Cricket, the FA, Dagenham and Redbridge FC and several local schools we will be offering opportunities for teenagers, parents, and others to become qualified cricket coaches, football coaches and referees. The Trust will offer mentoring and additional support with the prospect of paid or voluntary work going forward.
The Metropolitan Police will be holding coffee mornings and after school sessions to local members of the community, covering ‘Stranger Danger’ for young children, personal safety walks, avoiding scamming and online problems, plus other areas of concern. The topics will be driven by the members of the community. Other workshops are still in the planning stage but will provide opportunities for aspiring young players and coaches to meet members of the Daggers First Team and Staff to talk about training, diet, and participate in Q&A advice sessions. An ‘Open Day’ at May and Bakers Pre-season is just one idea we are currently working on with the Gaffer.
This season’s Daggers Celebrate Diversity Day in January was attended by many local families and supported in the car park by a variety of different organisations. It was so pleasing to see so many smiling faces. We thank BD Group for their continued support. We look forward to working with them again soon. Shame about the result.
In conjunction with the National Lottery and the Vanarama National League, the Club and the Trust distributed 12 season tickets to three different organisations, including two schools and a local disabled group allowing three different families to have a free day out at Victoria Road for each home game. The Trust regularly distributes free tickets to individuals, families, and schools as part in supporting in the local community. Today we welcome a small group of refugees from the war in Ukraine and hope that they watch us finish on a high in our last home fixture of the season.
Throughout the season our Club and Trust have been supported on matchdays by a small team of ball boys and girls, young programme sellers (That does include the ever young Brenda) and other volunteers. We would like to take this opportunity to thank them for their continued support.
The Matchday Guard of Honour continues to become even more popular, and anyone interested in next season should contact the Trust as soon as the fixtures are published in late June/early July.
Contact trust@daggers.co.uk for more information about any of the above activities or visit www.daggerstrust.com for more information.
National League U11 Cup South East Finals
The Club and Trust were represented by two different teams, Northbury School represented the girls and Ripple Road Primary School represented the boys.
The Girls were unbeaten and top of the league, they then went onto reach the semi finals and drew 0-0, unfortunately they went out on penalties. The Boys won four out their six games however they came 3rd in the group and only the top two teams made it to the final.
We would like to congratulate all school pupils and staff that represented the Daggers and thank Boreham Wood Trust for organising such a brilliant event.
Progress Project Guard of Honour vs Wrexham
Our Guard of Honour at the Level Playing Field 'Unite For Access 2023' match versus Wrexham was from the Barking and Dagenham Progress Project. The Barking and Dagenham Progress Project Young People’s Development Forum is committed to helping young adults with disabilities age 8 to 25.
The Forum group meets regularly on a Friday night to discuss issues affecting them and to empower them to engage with the community through social participation with local groups, finding volunteer opportunities, work experience and having fun with evenings out, day trips, meeting up at local libraries & coffee shops. All of the sessions are free to join. For further details on how to join, contact Andy Murphy on 07881 247654 or email: forum@bdpp.org.uk
Unite For Access 2023
The Daggers and the Daggers Trust have designated the Vanarame National League fixture versus Wrexham as their 'Unite for Access' 2023 match
The Level Playing Field works to improve access for disabled fans across the country. Read their article below from the Wrexham programme.
How are you doing? We hope you’re enjoying the match versus Wrexham! We’d like to introduce ourselves. We are Level Playing Field, the leading charity in England and Wales campaigning and advocating on behalf of disabled sports fans.
Today, your club is using this match day to participate in our new national campaign, 'Unite For Access'. A celebration of disabled fans, accessibility, and inclusion at sports venues. Did you know that an estimated 22% of the UK population are disabled? That means it’s very likely that you know someone who is disabled, or you might be reading this as someone who is disabled yourself.
Quick question - how did you get to the game today? If you came by train, did you know that 40% of railway stations don't have step-free access? Meaning that if you’re a wheelchair user or ambulant disabled, even getting to a match can be a considerable barrier to attending this game.
Talking of barriers, Level Playing Field conducted a survey last year which found that nearly 29% of disabled fans considered the 'Attitudes of others' to be a barrier when attending live sports.
We appreciate that talking about disability can be daunting sometimes, it's a complex subject matter. That’s why we invite all supporters, disabled and non-disabled, to engage with your club, Disabled Supporters Association (DSA) if it has one, and ourselves, because it's not just down to disabled people to highlight the importance of access and inclusion at your club…
Good disability access benefits everyone, so let’s… Unite for Your Team. Unite For Your Fans. #UniteForAccess
Visit www.levelplayingfield.org.uk to find out more and become a member for free, or you can find us across social media by searching Level Playing Field.
The Level Playing Field Unite For Access Campaign is an annual period of inspiration and celebration of good access and inclusion at sports venues. Level Playing Field works with sports clubs, disabled supporters’ associations, governing bodies, and other organisations in many ways.
Level Playing Field can offer support, information, and advice on a range of topics around disabled spectators’ access, and this is offered to spectators, Clubs, Disabled Supporter Association’s, NGOs, and other interested parties. They offer top tips and a range of training including disability inclusion and etiquette training, mediation, professional audits, and design appraisals.
Unite For Access is the new name of the LPF annual campaign, replacing its previous name ‘Weeks of Action’ from 2023. The campaign is provisionally set for the first two weeks of March every year and covers a two-week period including three weekends.
There are plenty of ways to get involved in Unite For Access. Hundreds of football clubs get behind the campaign each year by dedicating a matchday during this period to Level Playing Field, highlighting the work they do for disabled sports fans.
In 2021, over 100 football clubs from across the English pyramid backed Weeks of Action at games across the Premier League, EFL, National League, and non-League, despite there being no fans in the ground due to the coronavirus pandemic.
As part of the campaign, the Daggers Trust is interested in your thoughts and experiences relating to Access and you can take part in the campaign by completing the survey form at https://bit.ly/DTU4A23
This Girl's Ability
This Girl's Ability needs your support as they strive to help disabled girls and young women flourish.
This Girl's Ability needs £9,000 to help them start their non-profit community company, which seeks to decrease the isolation of disabled girls and young women and forge deeper connections within their community. Disabled people were disproportionately affected by COVID-19, and This Girl's Ability is committed to supporting their recovery post-pandemic.
The £9,000 raised through Crowdfunder will be used to provide weekly sports and creative sessions for disabled girls and young women in Havering and Essex.
Through regular group interaction, they aim to prevent and improve mental health, help members grow in confidence and learn new skills to improve employability, and provide sporting opportunities to this group not known to partake in physically active hobbies.
They aim to create a sustainable project by making the most of their current connections and creating new collaborative links with national governing bodies, sports clubs, local businesses, and community groups.
Georgie Hart, Director and Ambassador at This Girls Ability, said: “I believe this is an important project. Growing up as a disabled girl with cerebral palsy was very hard at times. A club in my local community would have helped me make friends, given me more confidence and made such a difference in my life.”
The money they hope to raise through Crowdfunder will enable them to empower disabled girls and young women. If we can raise £4,500, Sport England has confirmed they will pledge the other half! The community project will help to tackle inequalities and reach another area of regional deprivation.
This Girl's Ability has big dreams for their future, and by donating or purchasing a reward, you will be part of their journey and help them hit the ground running!
Donate at https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/thisgirlsability
