Charlton Athletic Community Trust’s (CACT) annual award ceremony, sponsored by ITRM, took place at the House of Lords on Thursday, October 24th, hosted by CACT Vice President Lord Michael Grade of Yarmouth.
The CACT Awards are a celebration of the organisation’s wide-ranging programmes across south-east London and Kent and the achievements of its participants, staff and partners from the past year.
Various partners, stakeholders and sponsors of both Charlton Athletic and CACT were in attendance inside the Cholmondeley Room at the House of Lords along with representatives of the Royal Borough of Greenwich, London Borough of Bexley and Kent County Council.
Young Leader Victoria Aderayo kicked off the evening by welcoming attendees and sharing her story of how CACT has helped her adjust to life in the UK as an immigrant student. With the help of Young Greenwich, Victoria has earned the DofE Bronze Award and participated in the Young Leaders programme.
Victoria then invited attendees to watch a short video, which can be see below, that provided viewers with a flavour CACT’s diverse and incredible work.
Victoria then invited Michael, member of Charlton's facilities team, to the stage. Michael shared his story of how CACT’s Men's Health services have helped him overcome his battles with addiction, mental health conditions and social isolation. Through CACT, Michael was put in touch with the club’s grounds staff and has become a reliable member of the team. Michael is now set to become a full-time member of the club’s maintenance team, and credited CACT for helping him get to the position he is in.
Charlton Athletic first-team manager Nathan Jones was one of many people in the room who were moved and inspired by Michael’s story, and said: “This has been one of the most humbling nights of my life. I listened to Michael’s story and I was welling up. I tried to speak to him afterwards but I found it difficult because of the emotion, so I’ve invited him for a coffee.
“What he has had to come through to achieve what he has should make him proud of himself, and we should be proud of him as a football club.”
Following Michael’s story, Victoria then introduced Lord Grade to the stage, who highlighted some of CACT’s most notable achievements during the past year. Lord Grade spotlighted that CACT has achieved the largest turnover in the organisation’s 32-year history, which has allowed for a record committed spend of £6.8m on charitable work within the community.
Lord Grade also highlighted Charlton Athletic’s achievement of being named as EFL Community Club of the Year for the 2023-24 season, and spotlighted the success of CACT’s LiveWell Greenwich programme. LiveWell Greenwich worked with 8,762 unique participants in 2023 and took over 62,730 calls into the LiveWell call centre for social prescribing referrals.
The first award of the evening was Participant of the Year (Over 18), sponsored by Adams & Bowles Wealth Management and presented by Adams & Bowles Managing Director Luke Adams. The winner was Mark Hawkins, who is a member of CACT’s walking football team.
Mark was recognised for his selfless efforts to help organise and run CACT’s walking football sessions, despite facing his own personal challenges over recent months.
When discussing what CACT’s walking football sessions mean to him, Mark said: “It’s the best day of the week, I love it. I’ve met really nice people and we like to go out for a drink after playing football. We don’t just turn up, kick a ball about and go home. There’s another part to it as well.”
Leland Walmer was named as the winner of the Young Participant of the Year (Under 18) Award, which was sponsored by the University of Greenwich and presented by their Head of UK Partnerships Leon Annett.
Leland was recognised for being a community champion who is always the first person to volunteer his services at CACT events and assist staff to deliver activities, including cricket coaching.
Young Greenwich Unit Manager Claire Hallinan said: “Leland is a really good role model to other young people. He helps out at community events and is always willing to give up his time to benefit other young people. He never asks for anything in return and likes to help others.”
The third award of the evening was Programme of the Year, sponsored by Bayliss Executive Travel and presented by the company’s CEO Alistair Bayliss. CACT’s Youth Engagement Buses programme was named as the award winner. Nominated programmes were assessed on the number of people helped, as well as the feedback from participants and partners.
The Greenwich and Bexley engagement buses have played a pivotal role in expanding the organisation’s outreach to a diverse array of young people within South East London. The variety of recreational activities available on the buses, coupled with the presence of dedicated mentors, has ensured that young people feel comfortable and safe with CACT during daily sessions on the buses.
Champions 4 Change (C4C) were the recipient of the fourth award of the night when they were named as Partner of the Year Award winners, which was sponsored by RSK and presented by Wayne Mumford, the company’s Director of Sport & Leisure.
C4C are a community interest company who aim to empower young people to become the best versions of themselves through boxing, mentoring and social intervention. CACT & C4C’s long-term partnership has allowed for the continued successful delivery of boxing-based services that engage young people in the community.
Charlie Macdonald, CACT’s Director of Youth, Health & Inclusion, said: “C4C use boxing as a hook to engage young people. They have a fantastic record of being able to engage boys and girls who are struggling with self-harm issues and delivering mental and physical wellbeing assistance for those young people.
“Congratulations to C4C on being selected as CACT’s Partner of the Year award winners, they are a valuable long term partner and we hope our partnership continues to provide outstanding services to young people.”
The winner of the Sir Maurice Hatter Outstanding Contribution to the Community award was Lesley White. Lady Irene Hatter presented Lesley with her award. Lesley was the chair of CACT’s pan-disability football club Ability Counts for 16 years, which runs weekly football sessions for children and adults.
CACT CEO Jason Morgan said: “Lesley has worked and volunteered for CACT, and the work she has sone around Ability Counts is well known. I’m delighted she has won because I’m fully aware of her hard work and dedication. She is fully deserving of this award.”
The Outstanding Staff Contribution award, sponsored and presented by former Charlton Athletic chairman Roger Alwen and his wife Heather, was won by CACT Outreach Officer Matt Phillips.
In June, Matt administered CPR on Alan Ford, who collapsed during a CACT Walking Football session.
CACT’s Director of Youth, Health & Inclusion Charlie Macdonald said: “Matt and his colleague Jack Willows stepped up in a life critical incident. They both showed tremendous calmness and bravery, and the value of the first aid training which all CACT staff undertake has resulted in Alan still being here today.
“Matt will go the extra mile for anyone. He cares about who he works with and that's the feedback we get from our participants. He’s deserving of this award in many ways.”
Matt was welcomed to the stage to collect his award alongside Jack and Alan.
