Reading FC Community Trust

A charity using the power of football to build confidence, inclusion and belonging across Reading has been nominated for Charity of the Year, sponsored by Cream Design.

“Ask anyone touched by Reading FC Community Trust what changed when it arrived in their life, and they will rarely talk about football first,” said the nominator. “They will talk about the quiet child who finally joined in at school, the grandfather with dementia who sang again, and the teenager with SEND who found a team that fitted around them.”

Led by Dave Evans, the Trust works with schools, businesses and community organisations across Reading, reaching more than 4,000 people every week through a wide range of programmes.

Its disability football sessions provide opportunities for players of all ages and abilities to be part of a team. Its LGBTQ+ inclusive football sessions offer a game where everyone is welcome exactly as they are. Its dementia programme brings supporters and their families back together through the club they have loved all their lives.

“Trust coaches are often the most consistent, familiar faces in the lives of the people they serve,” the nominator added. “They show up week after week in the same schools and community venues.”

“Reading is a town that loves its football club,” the nominator said. “The Community Trust is the part of the club that loves the town back.”