THE incredible impact made by Burton Albion Community Trust has been highlighted by an independent report which shows the full breadth of the charity’s work.
The trust reached a record 12,589 participants across 49 programmes in 2021-22. That included 4,633 children across East Staffordshire supported through the Premier League Primary Stars programme delivered by BACT. The participants represented a diverse age, gender, physical ability/disability and ethnicity. A total of 30 per cent of BACT participants were from an ethnic minority background. More than 7.3 per cent disclosed a physical or mental health condition.
A massive 85 per cent of participants felt that their activity at BACT was positive or very positive for their personal development.
The charity also made a substantial difference to the local economy. The direct economic impact was calculated at £5.5 million – a massive increase on the £2.6m on the last report. BACT attracted £1.16m of investment through funding, sponsorship, donations and grants. The charity employs 40 full-time, 13 part-time and two casual staff members.
The report shows that BACT achieved an impact across all three of its strategic outcomes: to develop happier and healthier communities, to create safer and more cohesive communities, and to empower communities to fulfil potential and opportunity.
BACT was founded 12 years ago as the charity arm of Burton Albion after the football club gained promotion to the Football League. The charity’s impact on the community has grown year-on-year and BACT’s ability to deliver was demonstrated when Covid 19 arrived.
BACT’s pandemic response, including the establishing of the Pirelli Stadium Vaccination Centre, has been widely praised and earned Burton Albion the EFL Community Project of the Year Award.
The Vaccination centre has now delivered more than 400,000 jabs and is supported by more than 100 volunteers.
Matt Hancock, Head of Community, said: “This report is external evidence that our programmes change lives, something we are extremely proud of.
“The support of so many partner organisations has enabled us to be successful in establishing our programmes at the heart of our community whilst addressing mental health, physical health, loneliness, and isolation. The experience of working closely with our local and wider NHS has been very successful and we are extremely grateful to all those within the health service for their considerable help and support.
“We have continued to place partnerships at the heart of what we do, and it has been amazing is to see our commitment to building long term education, health, wellbeing, and employability programmes start to materialise.
“We couldn’t do any of this without the hard work of our trustees, staff and volunteers, the commitment of our sponsors and partners and the incredible backing and support we receive from Burton Albion Football Club and Chairman Ben Robinson.”
Ben Robinson MBE DL said: “The football club has always prioritised using the power of sport to benefit the community and we are immensely proud all that BACT has achieved.
“This impact report puts all of that in sharp focus and shows how embedded in the community BACT has become.”
This independent report was compiled by EventID Sports Consulting Ltd on behalf of Burton Albion Community Trust. For more information visit eventid-sport.com
