The No More Red initiative launched in January with adidas to support the long-standing work being done by Arsenal in the Community to keep young people safe from knife crime and youth violence.
Meet Bailey
Bailey has dedicated a lot of time to Arsenal in the Community. He joined the Chances programme in July 2023, a programme delivered by Arsenal in the Community which aims to support young people in Islington to achieve their goals around education, employment and personal development. He was supported through a change in school and in his journey as he works towards his GCSEs this year. Bailey’s long-term goal is to work in the sport, health and fitness industry and his work with Arsenal in the Community has supported him to gain experience and qualifications in this area. Most recently, he was offered a place on the NCFE programme for the next steps in his education.
After joining the Chances programme last year, Bailey started off by completing his FA Playmaker and has volunteered on our Positive Futures session at the Westbourne Estate. Through this he helps to inspire the younger members of his community who attend these sessions, supporting them to access football, make friends and have fun. He supports our more experienced coaches in the delivery of sessions plans and takes on responsibility to develop his own skills in coaching and mentoring young people. We are really proud of the work Bailey has done so far and look forward to seeing him continue to succeed.
Meet Tyler
Tyler was a participant on Arsenal in the Community’s Football Plus 16+ programme. Tyler has shown great growth and development during years on the programme. Despite receiving a terrible injury last year that has affected his playing over the past 12 months, Tyler hasn’t let this influence his mentality to involve himself with the group in a mentoring role.
He has shown very good leadership skills and undertaken a lot of volunteering work with young people and remains keen to learn and grow. He has supported the Football Plus programme by helping coaches during the sessions and building his coaching knowledge. He has helped mentor younger players and was one of three young leaders for the Development Programme. He has supported matches alongside coaching staff and helped with player support and discussed feedback with AFC staff. He is also studying the Coaches CDP online and he also took part in the original Rocky 7 group (a youth leadership programme). Lastly, Tyler was part of our football development cultural exchange to Germany, showing great leadership skills, workingell between both the Boys development squad and the Girls academy
Meet Daniella
Daniella works with young people to support them with their journey into work, including setting up apprenticeship programmes that enable them to gain employment, while undertaking their qualifications and learning on the job. She supports them through our bespoke programme to help them gain full-time employment at the end of their journey.She also helps the young people map out their future careers and life journeys, coaching them at regular intervals and supporting them outside of work. Daniella is passionate about her role and has a thorough grasp of outside challenges and lived experiences. She has now helped numerous young people gain qualifications and permanent jobs.
Meet Sasha
Sasha has overcome many challenges in her life and is a valuable member of the Copenhagen Youth Project team. She has been working as a Peer Mentor for Targeted Youth Support since March 2022, providing group and individual support for young people with special educational needs and disabilities, most of whom are on the autistic spectrum. She has shown great patience, empathy and communication skills in her role, in which she helps young people to regulate their behaviour, socialise with others and participate in various activities.
Sasha has also been involved in several youth participation events, such as interviewing new staff, training police officers and representing Targeted Youth Support at a Metropolitan police event, where she asked Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley questions around policing and youth. She has been nominated and awarded for her hard work and dedication on several occasions.
Sasha has also been managing type 2 diabetes, which can be challenging at times, and continued to work as a mentor until she was seven months pregnant. Committed and resilient, she is a role model for other young people and an asset to the Copenhagen Youth Project service.
Meet Reggie
Reggie is a mentor at CYP and a keen sportsman. His main sport is basketball and he currently plays for Islington Panthers under-16s and under-18s. Reggie has demonstrated motivation, passion and great maturity in the sport, and has brought this same attitude into his mentoring at CYP. He is determined and focused, and he is prepared to challenge for the rights of young people when required. Reggie works as a mentor on two sessions per week, Football and Youth Club
Meet Emilia
Emilia was a volunteer mentor at Copenhagen Youth Project (CYP), one of our No More Red charity partners, for over a year before becoming a full-time career for her mother. Despite having to give up her role at CYP, Emilia continued to attend and support various projects such as organising trips, supporting Girls Club, planning events, cooking and ensuring the kitchen was spotless. Emilia has always been a keen footballer and also plays for the CYP girls’ team. In the last month she has returned to volunteering at CYP and is a credit to both young people and her family.
Meet Julia
Julia has been a part of Arsenal in the Community girls' programme for five years.
Through this time, Julia been motivated to take up opportunities outside of the football sessions and through this Julia feels like she has learnt patience, thanks to a coaching course she completed (FA playmaker and her level 1 coaching badge), teamwork from her time on the sessions working with others and her confidence which enables her to connect with others and speak publicly.
Julia has become a leader within our community groups and is seen as an inspiration to younger participants. Alongside her current sixth-form studies, Julia is an English tutor for younger school children and works part-time in our club shop.
Meet Kenny
Kenny has been connected with Arsenal in the Community’s programmes for over 12 years having grown up in the north of Islington.
Kenny was a regular participant on our PL Kicks programme on Elthorne Park where he was a valued member of the programme. Kenny would regularly put himself forward to take part in additional activities, particularly those that have a positive impact on his local area, for example by volunteering on our local response during COVID lockdowns.
Kenny is now working in a local secondary school as he finishes his teaching qualification. Kenny is a fantastic role model for his students having grown up in Islington himself and well placed to inspire the next generation of young leaders.
Meet eight young champions from Octopus Community Network
Eight young people, sponsored by the Arsenal/adidas ‘No More Red’ campaign, have become youth provision gamechangers by taking part in the Anthropology By Communities (ABC) programme led by anthropologist and Islington resident, Dr Kelly Fagan Robinson (University of Cambridge), working in partnership with Rosie Apperley (Octopus Community Network), Rory Cleary (Hornsey Lane Estate Community Association) and Adele Scott (Arsenal Football Club).
Throughout the ABC x No More Red collaboration, participants have learned different ways to witness other people’s experiences and to tell their own stories with openness and respect, mapping the joys and challenges they have experienced both through Arsenal Football Club and slightly further afield in their own home spaces.
Over the six months of the project, the participants created a commentary on what ‘home’ means to them using photography, film, and audio narrative. They started with a workshop at the Emirates, naming Arsenal as a key home space. They then documented their actual homes, capturing things in their buildings, flats, and estates that they would like others to see, to make their spaces more visible and their local communities safer.
As part of the project, participants travelled to Cambridge on October 7, 2023 to share their work and to lead artists, academics, policy-makers, and voluntary sector leaders in workshops at the first-ever Cambridge CRASSH Institute inReach Youth Summit.
The objective of the day was to get potential decision-makers to think together with the young people about the ways that each of us might be able to support to cultivate safer youth spaces, a key priority identified by the young people themselves. The outcome of the event was that more than 40 people each committed to writing to at least one practical action toward making positive change happen.
To thank the young people who participated in ABC x No More Red, these gamechangers are being celebrated today by being presented their own, all-white, No More Red Arsenal jerseys.
Meet Darius
On Saturday, December 9, Arsenal fan Darius Baun will embark on an ambitious ultra-marathon journey, traversing London's footballing landscape. His route will take him to the home stadiums of seven Premier League clubs: Crystal Palace, West Ham United, Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, Brentford, Fulham and Chelsea. This epic adventure will cover approximately 38.7 miles, equivalent to just under 1.5 marathons – a daunting challenge to say the least.
Earlier this year, Darius faced a difficult setback when he was subjected to a violent attack. The incident resulted in a broken jaw, a brain bleed, a lengthy hospital stay, and multiple surgeries over a three-month period. Thankfully, Darius has made a full recovery, regaining his strength and determination, thanks in no small part to the unwavering support of his family and friends throughout this difficult time.
Darius is determined to turn this negative experience into something positive. He is running his ultra-marathon to raise much-needed funds for the Ben Kinsella Trust to help them to reduce knife crime and to keep young people safe.
You can support Darius by donating on his Just Giving Page
Meet Dylan
Dylan was a participant on last year's Community Coach Development Programme with Arsenal in the Community.
Having never coached before, Dylan came in as a very shy individual and grew in confidence throughout the year. Dylan put a lot of thought into every assignment, taking a very child-centred approach in all of his work.
He took on every opportunity offered to him including supporting our Freedom from Torture group, some of our kicks sessions and our Coaching for Life programme in Za'atari refugee camp, Jordan, a big step out of his comfort zone and one where he made a great impact with his innovative thinking and creative ideas. He has now gone on to a sessional role in the community where he has continued his great work.
Meet Mikey and Tahmid
Mikey and Tahmid are a mentor and mentee pair from the Creative Opps 2023 mentoring programme.
Mikey is a product and technology professional who has been providing support to Tahmid, a computer science student based in Islington. Over a period of six months, they have been meeting on a weekly basis. During these meetings, Tahmid has been able to explore potential career paths after completing his studies, as well as gain insights into Mikey's area of expertise.
Throughout the mentoring programme, Mikey noticed a significant improvement in Tahmid's technical knowledge, confidence, and ability to ask questions.
Tahmid expresses gratitude to Creative Opps for providing the opportunity to connect with Mikey, which led to the development of a wonderful mentorship and friendship. Tahmid says: "This valuable connection was made possible through Creative Opps bringing us together, and I would recommend others to check out Creative Opps.”
Speaking about his time on the mentoring programme, Tahmid added: "Having a mentor has given me a sense of direction and calm. It has been a 10/10 experience, and I have benefited greatly from it.”
Mikey has provided exceptional support to Tahmid in the mentoring program, and Tahmid has displayed an incredible dedication to his self-development throughout the program.
Meet Gavin
Gavin has had a journey of involvement with the youth justice system and has been a child in care who has used his lived experience to support other young people.
Gavin has always expressed a self-determination and a desire to have real autonomy over his life and in doing so, he has changed his life and made positive choices, lives independently, enjoys positive personal relationships and continues to shape services for young people at risk in the community.
Gavin is employed by Young Islington as a Youth Peer Advocate. As a Youth Peer Advocate Gavin's work shapes service delivery for young people and supports the review of the effectiveness of youth justice interventions for young, including knife awareness programmes. Gavin has contributed by sharing his experiences of involvement with the youth justice system and represents the voice of children that is not often heard and has contributed many ideas about how best to support young people like himself.
Meet Tony
Tony Quinn is the founder of YES Outdoors, a pioneering youth charity operating in Islington and the surrounding areas.
Tony set up the charity in the wake of the 2011 London Riots to support disadvantaged young Londoners, especially those at risk of offending. By raising their aspirations and equipping them with much-needed skills and tools to improve their confidence, it helps them to pursue healthy activities, form positive interests and relationships, and make more informed life choices.
Tony's initiatives include in-depth mentoring schemes, employability skills coaching, accredited bicycle maintenance courses, a homework club, sports activities and adventure-based trips and camps. The focus on adventure and exploration helps the young people develop self-belief and resilience, enabling them to feel positive and excited about their future.
Meet Morray
Morray was a participant on our Premier League Kicks programme at Woodberry Down.
He became interested in a coaching role, so our coaches gave him the opportunity to gain his EE Playmaker Certificate, accredited by England Football. He recently coached a team and refereed at a Kicks tournament on Market Road, and is helping coach at our new Kicks sessions at London Fields, where he has made a big effort to build strong relationships with the community. Morray has also taken part in a leadership course with us as he continues his journey into coaching.
Meet Natasha
Natasha is a Physician’s Associate in a GP Practice in London, as well as a Community Outreach Coordinator at YourStance.
Through YourStance, Natasha organises and delivers community outreach sessions teaching young people emergency life-saving skills such as basic life support, CPR and bleed control, particularly to those at risk of serious youth violence. She liaises with community networks and partners to identify young people who would benefit from the life-saving skills workshops. She also helps to recruit and train other healthcare professionals who are keen to volunteer with the organisation.
Thanks to Natasha, YourStance currently have 350 healthcare professionals signed up to volunteer and have taught almost 2,500 young people in London emergency life-saving skills.
Meet Gloria
Gloria and Mayowa are two outstanding local young people who through their engagement with Arsenal in the Community, now play key roles on a national Youth Voice forum with the Premier League Charitable Fund.
This forum consists of 20 young people from across the country and works with the PLCF to develop social action projects which promote sustainability within the community. Gloria, aged 16, is a participant on our PL Kicks programme and weekly attends girls-only football sessions which provide opportunities for participants to enjoy sports whilst also building friendships and taking part in a wide range of opportunities off the pitch.
Over the past year, Gloria has been an integral part of the project by taking on leadership roles within the group, completing coaching courses and now playing a central role in the national Youth Forum.
Meet Mayowa
Gloria and Mayowa are two outstanding local young people who through their engagement with Arsenal in the Community, now play key roles on a national Youth Voice forum with the Premier League Charitable Fund.
This forum consists of 20 young people from across the country and works with the PLCF to develop social action projects which promote sustainability within the community. Mayowa, aged 16, has been a participant on our PL Kicks programme for over four years.
As well as taking part in regular sessions throughout this time, Mayowa has been a fantastic role model to others by engaging in positive activities outside of the football programme such as volunteering at community events and taking part in workshops.
Meet Reggie
Reggie is a key member of the Islington Boxing Club, focusing on getting young people off the streets and into gyms to participate in amateur boxing, offering them opportunities to train, compete or volunteer.
Reggie recently funded the second Boxing Leaders course held at IBC in July 2023 for 30 12-16-year-olds, intending to develop young people to become future coaches/volunteers and mentors.
Some participants have already gone on to find employment; others gaining more confidence in everyday life. Reggie also hopes to offer graduates of the course opportunities to coach at IBC, strengthening the coaching team and benefiting the community for years to come.
Meet Sadeq
Sadeq's role as a business apprentice at Islington Council is having a positive impact on the lives of young people in the community, specifically those who are not, or at the risk of not being, in education, employment or training due to being involved in youth violence or in care.
Sadeq also serves as a mentor and role model to young people in the community. He takes the time to listen to their concerns and challenges, and he provides them with practical advice and encouragement including referring some of his peers to the Youth Employability and Skills programme where young people get advice and guidance on options and progression routes and pathways into employment.
