Donate to Project 35 at Stoke City takeover fixture
Argyle’s Sky Bet Championship fixture against Stoke City on Saturday, 2 December has been selected as the third dedicated Project 35 fixture and will present another opportunity for the Argyle community to come together in the fight against food poverty in Plymouth, Devon, and Cornwall.
Our home game against the Potters is our first dedicated Project 35 Takeover fixture of the season, with supporters and members of the community again encouraged to bring items of in-date, non-perishable food to Home Park before the game. We are particularly in need of tinned food, UHT milk, and toiletries. The ambitious aim will be to surpass our incredible previous donation totals of 1.3 tonnes in April, and 2.3 tonnes in October last year – an overwhelming response and a testament to the generosity of our communities.
Donations will be delivered to Argyle Community Trust’s Community Larder, located at Manadon Sports Hub, to support those in need ahead of the festive period. This represents a vital time where demand is at its highest and the foodbank network is faced with the uncertainty of whether it will have enough resource to meet demand.
The Community Larder runs every week and is currently supporting 80 local people in need with food and supplies provided through our charity network. To find out more, or to sign-up, email trevor.higgins@pafc.co.uk.
Project 35, in partnership with Ginsters, had a profound impact in its first season. As well as the huge success of the fan appeals, and winning Best Corporate Social Responsibility Scheme at the Football Business Awards, the project has delivered:
- Over 35,000 meals to those most in need
- 3,000 volunteering hours from ‘Pledge 35’ volunteers
- 307 hampers to the most deprived areas of Plymouth
- 10,000 Ginsters products to those living in temporary accommodation
- Over 400 hours of community volunteering from Ginsters staff
- 320 match tickets, 20 mascot experiences, and 212 Argyle shirts gifted
- Free education and wellbeing sessions to 5,922 children with 13,219 hampers gifted
- Education programmes and social action projects around food poverty to three schools
- Enrichment days for 24 students who were at risk of exclusion
- Adult education sessions and food workshops for young people
- Vital poverty awareness raised
New initiatives are taking place across the 2023/24 season and are being launched weekly in the fight against poverty.
The food van and Project 35 gazebo will be located at the Devonport End from 12 pm on matchday. Pledge 35 volunteers, Ginsters staff, and Trust staff will be on hand to support collections and chat more about the wider aims of Project 35.
Dwain Morgan, Head of Business and Impact at Argyle Community Trust said: “We were absolutely blown away by the incredible support from the community and Argyle supporters in the 2022/23 season. For local people to come together and donate 4.1 tonnes of produce for Plymouth Foodbank is a testament to the kindness and generosity we have seen towards Project 35 since its inception.
“The deepening cost of living crisis is having an impact on so many people’s lives in our communities. We look forward to match day and, hopefully, surpassing the incredible effort at the last appeal.”
Debbie Moss, Ginsters Project 35 Champion, said: “We’re really pleased to continue to support initiatives such as this as part of Project 35. The takeover game is a key event in the support calendar.
"It’s so humbling to see the Argyle fans support with such generosity. For our team it's also a special day to be part of, seeing first hand the passion and dedication to the cause, from and in aid of, our local community.”
For more information on Project 35, including how to sign up to take the Pledge 35 challenge, click here.
Thank you in advance for your generosity and support.
