Supporting our community through COVID-19

Arsenal Football Club has never shied away from responding to the needs of its community.

In these uncertain times we are taking a series of steps to ensure our local and global communities receive our full support.

The Arsenal Foundation will donate £100,000 to local charities and organisations that are supporting those most in need during this COVID-19 crisis. We are in constant dialogue with Islington Council and our partners in the NHS to ensure this response is aligned with their priorities and supports those most vulnerable.  

A further £50,000 already donated to local community initiatives by The Arsenal Foundation, in partnership with Islington Giving, will also be re-directed to Islington Giving's Crisis Fund as part of this COVID-19 community response.

From Tuesday, March 24, we will make all Arsenal in the Community cars available to transport frontline NHS mental health workers. Driven on a voluntary basis by Arsenal in the Community staff, this service will support NHS workers in delivering vital medication and emergency supplies.   

  

Discussions are underway to support delivery in local schools and pupil referral units, whilst creating new digital resources for primary school children and other regular participants that are being asked to stay at home. These include online versions of the club's innovative Double Club education programme, which combines football and learning.

Arsenal in the Community's BTEC tutors are continuing to deliver classes remotely to ensure assignment deadlines are met, whilst our social inclusion staff are maintaining regular contact with the vulnerable young people they support to assess their needs and continue to support them.

  

Globally, we continue to stand with our communities in Za'atari Refugee Camp, Jordan and in Jakarta, Indonesia where The Arsenal Foundation runs Coaching for Life with Save the Children.   

  

With the Coaching for Life programme currently suspended in both locations, Arsenal coaches will work remotely with local coaches to continue to develop the resilience training modules of the programme. We will also support the children who normally participate in our programme with educational and morale-lifting contact, resources and messages. Together with Save the Children we will continually reassess whether and when we can resume delivery of our live coaching programme.

  

Our global charity partner Save the Children is developing a COVID-19 Hub to assist parents and children here in the UK, which we will also support with Arsenal educational resources and materials.   

  

Managing director Vinai Venkatesham said: "Arsenal Football Club exists to make our fans proud and create a sense of community for people in Islington, across the UK and around the world. During these uncertain and unprecedented times, we will endeavour to ensure that remains the case."