St Mirren selected Home-Start Renfrewshire and Inverclyde as their strategic charity partner as St Mirren’s vision to place people and the local community at the centre of decision-making aligns with the ethos Home-Start Renfrewshire and Inverclyde also lives by.
St Mirren has the overall mission to be the best community centred development football club in Scotland and have announced a three-year strategic partnership with Home-Start Renfrewshire and Inverclyde to widen the club's reach to local families and provide direct help to those in need of extra support. The new partnership between St Mirren and Home-Start Renfrewshire and Inverclyde has been further strengthened with the appointment of St Mirren Chief Operating Officer, Keith Lasley as the Home-Start Ambassador for the Renfrewshire area.
We are fan-owned through The St Mirren Independent Supporters Association (SMiSA). The move into fan ownership came in conjunction with charity and social enterprise Kibble who, in 2020, bought a 27 percent stake to become part-owners of the club. The club has already built a strong sense of community through school visits, ticket donations and regular charitable initiatives including the set-up of clothing drive last winter.
The St Mirren Charitable Foundation and Street Stuff have a profound impact on the wider community. The Foundation run over 20 programmes from 'Fit and Fed' to the Walking Football Club and each week sees over 500 people come along to join in with the various fun sports clubs and group sessions. The community reach is strengthened through Street Stuff, which will be celebrating 15 years of delivery in April 2024. Their diversionary approach has contributed to a sustained reduction in reported youth disorder and anti-social behaviour with activities including multi-sports, gaming (within our multipurpose youth buses), community litter picks, as well as the wide range of current topical educational inputs, all of which are delivered by community staff from St Mirren.
The club wants to build on the momentum and use its power to offer even more tangible help, building on existing activities to create the greatest community impact possible.
St Mirren have previously worked with Home-Start who provide practical and emotional support to parents/carers with children until five-years-old. Families are recommended to Home-Start from Health Visitors and GPs as well as directly contacting the charity themselves. By establishing the existing relationship as an official strategic charity partnership, the two organisations can combine resources to provide immediate respite to real-life families.
Together, St Mirren and Home-Start will make a bigger difference than either organisation could working in silo.
Keith Lasley, Chief Operating Officer of St Mirren, said: "In the past year, Home-Start Renfrewshire and Inverclyde have supported over 200 families and St Mirren are committed to working side-by-side to deliver charitable projects that families can directly benefit from and raise the profile of the work the charity carries out daily.
It is essential that help is accessible to families who ask for support. We as a club are determined to use our power to help Home-Start ensure parents/carers and grandparents feel like someone is listening and available to them in their time of need.
"Here at St Mirren our success relies on more than a result on the pitch, the club’s sense of achievement very much factors in the impact we’ve had on those living within the community - how many community projects we’ve been a part of, the number of families who come along on match day. We want to make Paisley proud by saying St Mirren has made a difference to the lives of families who surround the stadium.
"It is a privilege for me to take on the role of Home-Start Ambassador for Renfrewshire. There will be full involvement from myself and the entire club and we look forward to meeting families, working with the staff team, launching valuable initiatives and fundraising for such an important and worthwhile cause."
Lisa Carberry, Interim Director of Home-Start Renfrewshire and Inverclyde, said: "To have St Mirren support Home-Start truly exemplifies community spirit. We are looking forward to growing our existing relationship with the club as we partner together over the shared interest of helping families.
"Both organisations have the same vision, to bring people together, and for families to know there is a community open to them. Parenting can be rewarding, but it can also bring challenges. Home-Start understands that not all parenting journeys are the same for everyone therefore Home-Start is there to help families navigate their way through these new and sometimes daunting times. Home-Start is delighted to be able to receive the support and resources that a partnership with the local Scottish Premiership Football Club can offer. The goal is always to provide the best support possible to families across Renfrewshire and Inverclyde."
