13 May KIRKLEES SCHOOLS ENCOURAGED TO SEND LETTERS TO CARE HOMES IN BID TO CONNECT GENERATIONS

With Government guidelines on Social Distancing still in place, there is a risk of members of the Kirklees community, in particular the older generation, feeling isolated.

To try and combat this, the Huddersfield Town Foundation has reached out to local care homes in a bid to try and connect generations through the power of writing.

Working on the back of the Premier League’s #GetInTouch initiative, the Town Foundation is reaching out for expressions of interest from local primary and secondary schools who would like to encourage their students to engage with a resident.

The children could write about their experiences during lockdown, their sporting interests, their family, hobbies or anything else that they feel confident sharing.

It is intended to be a two-way initiative, with the youngsters subsequently receiving correspondence back and developing a positive relationship over time.

Whilst the Town Foundation feel the engagement would primarily be of benefit to local older residents, this is also a fantastic opportunity for youngsters to develop their writing and communication skills.

It is hoped that the task will also benefit children, who are at risk of becoming bored or inactive while at home.

In the absence of its regular programme of sessions, the Town Foundation is keen to ensure it does everything possible to support vulnerable members of the local community.

Examples of such projects not currently taking place include Premier League Primary Stars and Premier League Kicks, which target primary and secondary school children respectively.

The Foundation has also been forced to postpone its Sporting Memories Sessions at Brian Jackson House as well as closed sessions at local care homes, which are aimed at people affected by dementia, depression or social isolation.

If your school would like to take part in this initiative, please contact Sofie Armitage, who will be able to put you in touch with a local care home and provide further support, on sofie.armitage@htafcfoundation.com.

The Communities section of the Premier League website contains helpful resources for this initiative, aimed particularly at primary school aged participants.

These include letter templates and ideas to include in the letters. You can click here to find out more.