Home-Start Renfrewshire and Inverclyde
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 from October 2023 agreed a three-year strategic partnership with Home-Start Renfrewshire and Inverclyde to further widen the club’s reach to local families and provide direct help to those in need. The partnership has been further strengthened with the appointment of St Mirren Chief Operating Officer, Keith Lasley as the Home-Start Ambassador for the Renfrewshire area.
Home-Start 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 between St Mirren and Home-Start as an official strategic charity partnership, the two organisations can combine resources to provide immediate respite to real-life families.
St Mirren has already built a strong sense of community through school visits, ticket donations and regular charitable initiatives including annual winter clothing drives. The club will commit to donating Family Season Tickets to Home-Start who then gift families the opportunity to cheer on the Saints together. Entire families - grandparents, parents, siblings and children – all enjoy looking forward to match day and bond over the thrill of the game and the fun family activities set-up ahead of kick-off.
Furthermore, 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. As an official charity partner, Home-Start will receive strong support from the club. St Mirren also promise to share stories about the difference Home-Start is making with you, the fans, who have the power to support through generous donations or selfless volunteering efforts.
Overall, the charity partnership demonstrates St Mirren’s vision to empower the families within and around the surrounding areas, reminding us of the value of connection and community.
How Can I Help?
No donation amount is too little. From only £12 you can help support fellow families.
