CHALLENGE Poverty Week runs from October 7-13 this year and provides an opportunity to raise your voice against poverty and show what is being done to tackle poverty across Scotland.

Celtic Football Club was founded in 1888 as a means of raising funds to provide food for the poor and hungry of Glasgow’s East End – and in present day, tackling poverty remains a core aim for the Club’s charitable arm, Celtic FC Foundation.

In support of Challenge Poverty Week 2019, here are a few ways that Celtic FC Foundation is striving to help address poverty:

CashBack: Gateway to Employment
Delivered by Celtic FC Foundation and funded by Scottish Government's CashBack for Communities, Gateway to Employment is a bespoke employability and personal development project. Aimed at young adults, the project targets individuals who have offended, are at risk of offending, or live in an area with a high risk of crime. The project ultimately aims to reverse cyclical patterns of worklessness and prevent recidivism.

Gateway to Health and Opportunity
In partnership with Big Lottery Fund Scotland and Clyde Gateway, Celtic FC Foundation's Gateway to Health and Opportunity is a 10-week health and wellbeing project featuring information workshops on lifestyle choices, smoking cessation and money management, and crucially, a challenging curriculum of physical activity, encouraging healthy habits that can last a lifetime. This is a positive intervention that helps people reach their full potential and experience better outcomes, including training, volunteering and meaningful employment.

Community Jobs Scotland
In partnership with the Scottish Council of Voluntary Organisations, the Community Jobs Scotland scheme has created over 7,500 jobs for Scotland's most vulnerable young people in the Third Sector. Since 2015, the Foundation has helped over 40 young people secure paid employment in a range of sectors - with several young people becoming Community Coaches here at Celtic FC Foundation.

Summer Games
Since 2012, Celtic FC Foundation's Summer Games project has allowed local children and young people a chance to grow, learn and socialise within a safe, encouraging environment. The project also provides children with three nutritious meals a day and equips them with knowledge and confidence to lead healthier lifestyles.

Glasgow NorthEast Foodbank
For almost six years, Celtic FC Foundation has supported Glasgow Northeast Foodbank to provide food and household provisions to impoverished and disadvantaged families across the North and East of Glasgow. Most recently, the Foodbank, which operates from the local Church of Scotland, had over three tonnes of food donated to their pre-match collection before the Celtic v Kilmarnock game.

Annual Christmas Appeal
Taking place annually between late October and December, Celtic FC Foundation's Christmas Appeal sees a series of major fundraising events in aid of the poorest and most vulnerable families in various communities in the UK and Ireland. The appeal also assists vulnerable pensioners and works with charities who look after people leading chaotic lives such as refugees and the homeless community.

Speaking on Challenge Poverty Week, Celtic FC Foundation Chief Executive, Tony Hamilton said: "Poverty remains our top priority at Celtic FC Foundation, and through a network of fundraising initiatives across the world, we are able to play a small part in addressing this issue.

“Thanks to the Celtic support across the world and many other people and organisations who are drawn to the Celtic story, we are able to help people within our communities who live in poverty.

“The Annual Christmas Appeal is a great example of this but our partnership with the Glasgow North East Foodbank through the Church of Scotland and our partnership with Mary’s Meals in the developing world are two other examples.

“Employability also remains a great focus for us in tackling poverty and we’re lucky to be supported by Cashback for Communities, Magners, Fleet Alliance and the Big Lottery in delivering successful projects that lead to people getting out of poverty.

“A sincere thanks to everyone who supports the work of Celtic FC Foundation. We have a professional team in place which concentrates on positive outcomes and we need to be doing more of this work as we go forward."

If you would like more information about any of the projects described in this article, please contact cfcfoundation@celticfc.co.uk or call 0141 551 4321

Celtic FC Foundation supporting Challenge Poverty Week 2019