Club Doncaster Foundation

[graingrover]

 This makes me feel as proud as Punch of  our club .

[bally1950]

People do deserve praise indeed, non more so than Eric Randerson who started all this around 1998, with Richard who is still at the helm. Yes it is a job but the hours that those two men put into making this all happen. Eric sits at back of South Stand on the occasions that I see him. He should be congratulated for all the work and paid AND unpaid hours he has done over the many years.

 

[Al4475]

Absolutely 3rded! I've worked alongside this in many guises over the years (primarily in schools in and around donny.) I have to say I've been lucky enough to work with other similar initiatives at derby, stoke, burton and various other sporting club foundations/community schemes and even without my drfc tinted glasses on no other establishment gets involved quite like ours pound for pound and scale for scale!

The virtues of this group of people and those in community teams plus those no longer involved need shouting about from rooftops!

[graingrover]

I don't think they get enough media exposure be it social media or TV and local press . The fact that the Foundation is at the heart of Club Doncaster and the Rovers are at the heart of Club Doncaster is so important . Rovers mission is to be a Community Club . Many mission statements of clubs and organisations in general fade as the paper on which they are written fades yellow  with age . DRFC's mission as a Community club is alive and kicking in the many successive actions they are undertaking  in the  Donny Community .
 
ABOUT THE FOUNDATION

Club Doncaster Foundation, formerly Doncaster Rovers Foundation, is a non-profit, self funding registered charity that has achieved over 30 years of inspiring positive change, participation in sport, physical activity and education within the Doncaster Borough and internationally. We utilise the social reach of the professional sports clubs and community stadium to challenge lifelong habits, inspire positive change and motivate sustained participation in sport, physical activity, training and education.

'Club Doncaster' encompasses Doncaster Rovers Football Club, Doncaster Rugby League Club and the Keepmoat Stadium. We focus our work towards the shared principles of 'creating a better Doncaster' and 'improving lives'.

'Here at Club Doncaster, we have been recognised for our quality of provision and have been recent recipients of the Doncaster Sports Business of the Year Award for 2013, in 2014 and 2015 we were awarded ‘Community Club’ of the year for North West (Football League Awards) & named in the top 4 nationally in a market spread of 92 Foundations, and more recently have been named ‘Professional Club Community Programme of the Year’ in the 2015 Sport & Recreation Alliance Community Sport and Recreation Awards.

Our award winning team have reached in excess of 18,000 participants a year with a portfolio of over 35 of projects.

[graingrover]

http://www.clubdoncasterfoundation.co.uk/about-us/who-we-are/

http://www.doncasterroversfc.co.uk/news/article/community-man-eric-steps-down-as-foundation-chief-259227.aspx

[graingrover]

I asked the Belles Chairlady if Belles were involved . They are NOT and according to Mrs Lygo it is because there is a conflict of business interests  How on earth you can be in conflict with a Doncaster Community Foundation which is a Charitable organisation I don't understand .
    Independence should not mean ISOLATION you Belles . Should Belles' mission not be to support  and complement this Donny Community body  not compete with it ?
       Project Phoenix at Belles is a great initiative and an important part of it is to encourage young girls to take up  football and progress under the Belles wing .

[Sammy Chung was King]

The club has improved massively over the years, in being available to the community. I was offered a job way back just before Richard was appointed, by Eric, i sometimes wonder how it would have gone if i had taken it.

[graingrover]

Sammy .. can you tell me whether it also supports girls in football . I am struggling to understand why the Belles consider there to be a conflict of 'business' interest between the Foundation and Belles ( according to Faye Lygo who gave me that bare statement without explaining it)

[The Red Baron]

I'd imagine it is because the Lygos' business is BPP which is an educational and training organisation. Club Doncaster Foundation is also educational.

I may be wrong and if so I'm happy to stand corrected.

[Jenny]

It is hardly the same though, you can't compare what is basically vocational sports courses to University/professional level education. I know BPP offer apprenticeships but it is a completely sector and aimed at what I would think were very different people.

I can't imagine many people thinking, 'oh I want to be a lawyer so I am going to do apprenticeship with BPP' and then decide against it because they can learn dance with the foundation...

All very bizarre.

[graingrover]

RB .. I am in correspondence on this issue with F Lygo and have talked to Gavin. . The educational clash has not been quoted . The PAST attitudes of Rovers have( dixit FL) and there is no doubt in my mind that this is hampering  Gavin's offers to partner Belles in fan base build  ( with T Bramall's blessing )
  I have no rôle in this but have expressed strongly a ' fan's view' that the wider Doncaster Community would welcome evidence of cooperation and synergy between the two clubs so that the name Doncaster ROVERS Belles does not prove to be  meaningless. The name 'adjustment' was originally suggested to Belles by FA !!!, according to Belles in a reply to a question on their open forum.
 . Gavin and Faye Lygo have met and are mulling over a number of  possible common actions.   
                I would hate to see Belles being a clone of Man City or Arsenal ladies who seem to bask in the artificial glory of the men's clubs... but FGS let's co operate in building our two clubs in our common community. 

[The Red Baron]

I could understand that the Belles might be wary of getting too close to Rovers / Club Doncaster in view of past history. That would be quite reasonable. However it seems odd to then point to conflicting business interests.

Ideally they would be able to work more closely with CD while maintaining a good level of independence. It's good to hear that talks are going on though.

[RobTheRover]

People do deserve praise indeed, non more so than Eric Randerson who started all this around 1998, with Richard who is still at the helm. Yes it is a job but the hours that those two men put into making this all happen. Eric sits at back of South Stand on the occasions that I see him. He should be congratulated for all the work and paid AND unpaid hours he has done over the many years.

 

I trained my u13s side at the Keepmoat last night and passed pleasantries with Eric before our session. He's a lovely bloke.

[graingrover]

There may be another unspoken dimension that I would personally  understand . Sexism is still very clearly an issue in football and I would understand if the new Belles Board , especially since they came through the crisis themselves , seek independence from male chauvinisms.A clear strategy is to develop female coaches .. the Board is all female ( since Carl was replaced by Faye) and the new Managing Director  is the lady who fills a top Management rôle also at BPP.

               However fortunately Belles also have men in their fan base and I think that the new young generation of fans will be taken along to Keepmoat to watch Belles by their Mum's and DAD's ! 

               Belles are still not incorporated , if that is the word to describe an organistaion that is not a company. They are not owned as such by anyone . BPP( Lygo family) is their main sponsor and a very rich and dynamic set of people with tremendous ambition for Belles .  They need not put two fingers up to the rest of the world. 

[graingrover]

http://www.doncasterroversfc.co.uk/news/article/college-upgrade-complete-2833877.aspx

   wow!   Well done !

[Sammy Chung was King]

Sammy .. can you tell me whether it also supports girls in football . I am struggling to understand why the Belles consider there to be a conflict of 'business' interest between the Foundation and Belles ( according to Faye Lygo who gave me that bare statement without explaining it)

I don't know graing, But it should if it doesn't. Womens football is just as big a positive as mens football, anything that gets young people keeping fit, learning how to look after their bodies is always a good thing!.
I sometimes think Rovers as a club has seen itself as the ''big cheese'' among the teams in Doncaster, and looked down at the other clubs.
 Whereas helping each other can only make you stronger. ''The rugby union side are one of the success stories of the town''!.
They seem well run, always competitive, even pushing for promotion this season, the ground is in proportion to their support, they seem to have built things up as the club has got stronger!.

I honestly think the combined brains of all the clubs could learn from each other. The Belles formerly the best in the land, now have to find another way to compete against money.
The community courses are vital to helping to find the next generation, but also those that aren't good enough, learn to love the sport and play at the level they are good enough for!.
The Dons have had their spell of success, they are similar to us, re grouping for another go at doing well again. I can honestly see all our clubs in Doncaster being held up in the future as ''That's how you go about doing well''!.
In the next five years, i see Doncaster being recognised as a very successful sporting area.