When the Scottish Football Association got in touch with Bonnyrigg Rose Community Football Club to see if a representative could attend a meet and greet session with His Royal Highness, The Duke of Cambridge, to discuss the club’s Mental Health Programme, of course we were delighted to say yes.
Prince William is a real ambassador for Positive Mental Health and recognises that through Sport, especially Football (which is the sport that attracts the greatest numbers in terms of membership and supporters in the country). It’s a great way to get the message out there about breaking the Stigma around Mental Health and getting people talking about Mental Health and Wellbeing.
Trish Sime, Bonnyrigg Rose Football Club Development Manager, had the opportunity to chat to the Duke of Cambridge where she was able to share all the things that Bonnyrigg Rose Community Football Club is currently supporting in the area and the collaborative approach to the Positive Mental Health Project with other local organisations in supporting Mental Health for the local People. The Club works with Local Organisation Health in Mind where we support the delivery for #MidlothianMenMatter, Midlothian’s Womens group (both peer support groups). A social inclusion support group and the club is involved in supporting suicide prevention week.
The club also works closely with Lasswade High School where we are currently delivering a programme where senior pupils can get support in managing stress and anxiety. We are planning time to train staff on Mental Health First Aid and deliver online bitesize podcasts for all Pupils/ Parents
Covid saw the club get involved in 121 targeted counselling as local people approached the club for help at times of need. In partnership with local organisations, Emotion – All, Positive Mental Health Scotland (PHMS), Learning Circles Scotland (LCS), the club has been in a position to offer professional support for children and adults at a time when they felt vulnerable and in need of help.
All really positive stuff and all delivered through the power of the football club.
Please help the club secure funding which will help us to continue to deliver this programme of work for local people by voting for Bonnyrigg Rose Football Club in the Mental Health category –
LNER Customer and Community Investment Fund survey (alchemer.eu)
If you would like to get involved in the clubs community programme – please contact Trish on 07834456625.
With help from the Corra Foundation , ‘Shift the Power’ grant stream, Bonnyrigg Rose Football Club is supporting our local Lasswade High School staff and pupils by providing a further step towards Positive Mental Health. The school has been working really hard to ensure all pupils know they are not alone at this difficult time. The club is really pleased to be able to add a little bit more to this project and support the local community in the process.
The club works with 2 local organisations , ‘Positive Mental Health Scotland’ and ‘Emotion All’ on many of its Positive Mental Health Projects and on this occasion they are providing a number of supports to help the school:
Staff training on Mental Health First Aid (CPD)- A series of student sessions on Managing Stress and Anxiety for 5 th and 6th year students
Mentoring focussing on listening skills for 6th year students so they can support their peers and offer drop in sessions to support students who may want to talk.
Podcasts on helping to understand the teenage brain and some positive steps to mental wellbeing.
The club has already developed a strong link with the school in supporting it’s School of Football and providing work experience for local students. This Positive Mental Health Project is another example of how Partnership working can really benefit everyone in our local community.
If you or anyone you know is struggling just now, as many of us are in some shape or form, the club is offering 121 support for individuals. Please contact Trish on 07834456625 . All enquiries are treated confidentially.
Bonnyrigg Rose and ‘Health in Mind’s ‘ Social Group – ‘Roses Reach Out’ are in for a bit of a fun time, thanks to funding granted by the ‘National Lottery Birthday Fund’ .
The group which normally meets up at the Footballs Club Sports Pavillion at Poltonhall had a social outing planned with the fund, however with Covid 19 putting a stop to that the fund has been used to bring a bit of fun in other ways.
Health In Mind’ have kept the communication going for the group via Zoom Meetings. There’s been Recipe sharing, Felt Making, Quizzes, Christmas Crafts and lots of lovely chats.
‘Roses Reach Out’ group currently catches up every Friday afternoon. If you or someone you know would enjoy some company and would like to get involved , we’d love to hear from you.
Contact – Trish@bonnyriggrose.org.uk
The Management Team worked hard , liaising with the SFA ( Scottish Football Association) and following the Public Health Guidance to be surWhat a brilliant sight, seeing hundreds of kids and their coaches back at Poltonhall.e the club was good to go as soon as Scottish Government said outdoor sports could resume .
This week we’ve had almost all age groups back at training and the atmosphere has been electric !
Over the coming weeks we’ll let everyone get settled back into training and plan the next stage of football when it‘s safe to do so . We have already discussed the option of increasing the numbers we have in each session with the SFA , so we’ll wait on their guidance. In the meantime, the priority is getting the kids socialising , confident about being out and about and loving having a ball at their feet again ! Until normal training at Poltonhall resumes, Gold and Gray will continue to deliver weekly Zoom sessions in addition to any training sessions at Poltonhall. There will be no competitive activity for the time being and having fun is the objective.
Everyone has managed the changes in how things need to happen really well . Health and Safety is a priority and we’d like to thank everyone for adhering to the necessary changes .
The club has been really busy behind the scenes over the past couple of months to ensure the kids/ age groups have a safe, appealing facility to come back to . The Astro Pitch has been relined . The Club has invested thousands in new goals ( the goals inherited from the council weren’t in great condition and some were unsafe ) The grass pitches have been treated ,verti – drained , well-tended and in great condition . CCTV has been installed as a security measure to protect the clubs investments. We’ve installed a fuel tank which allows us to manage all pitch cutting on site and the long term financial benefit of not having to get contractors to maintain the pitches is quite significant. The club has invested thousands to make the site ‘ Covid Ready ‘ with a view to eradicating the risk of spreading the virus through any activity at Poltonhall. There will be ongoing costs to ensure everyone has access to the necessary hygiene products.
We couldn’t have made any of the improvements or investments without the support of our members / parents – so , a HUGE ‘Thank You ‘ .
Some of the clubs community activity has been able to continue, albeit in different ways.
The club is passionate about ‘Positive Mental Health ‘ and is currently offering 121 counselling/support for local adults and kids . The last few months has been a very difficult time for some people . We are working in partnership with experts who can give support with anxiety, stress, emotional / behavioural concerns as a result of Covid-19 . Please access the professional support on offer available if you , your child , family member, friends could use some help and support at this time. In the first instance – please make contact with – trish@bonnyriggrose.org.uk . All managed in confidence .
#MidlothianMenMatter has continued over Zoom and the ‘Social Inclusion Group’ have also managed to meet over Zoom as well as some face to face catch up for those shielding.
The club supported Midlothian Councils Foodbank concept. With the help of club volunteers we provided groceries for 43 families , over 300 bags of shopping . We also managed to get a small grant to provide activities games , Jigsaws/ books etc to help keep folk occupied at times of lock down . Huge thank to the ‘Coalfields Trust’ for their support .
The Friday Night Youth Club and our Senior Citizens sessions will be ready to start up as soon as it’s safe to do so.
At the height of lock down lots of our players and their families took part in a ‘Big Club Campathon’. Pitching tents in their gardens and sleeping under the stars for a night to raise funds for the NHS / Local Community Hospital . Fun was had by all and over £3,000.00 raised.
It’s such a great club and that’s down to the good people involved. The supportive parents/carers , the kids and coaches. The Management Team would like to thank each and every one for the commitment , support and trust placed in them, especially over the last few month’s …
When Danny’s Burnett’s normal place of work (Midlothian Council’s, Newbattle Community Campus) temporarily closed as a result of Corona Virus, Danny opted to support the NHS by helping a team that was set up to co ordinate the distribution of PPE to Social Care Staff, Hospitals and Care Homes across the Lothians.
When Danny saw first-hand how hard the hospital staff worked and how they are currently coping with this Corona Virus pandemic Danny thought it would be great to do something to recognise their efforts and dedication. He decided to fund raise some money that the hospital could put to good use.
Anyone that knows Danny knows he loves football. He invests lots of time in his role as the ‘Lead Coach’ with the 2008 kids at ‘Bonnyrigg Rose Football Club’. After speaking to the clubs General Manager Jim Wilson, who thought it was a great idea for the club to get involved in supporting Danny’s fundraising efforts, Danny then invited the coaches and kids at the club to get involved in a huge fundraiser, a mammoth ‘Campathon’ !
This activity was safe to do as families could do it within their own homes/ gardens and it was something that everyone in the family could have some fun taking part in.
On Saturday 16th May, over 200 tents were pitched in gardens, tents made out of bed sheets indoors and even beds made up in the back of a transit van for ‘The Bonnyrigg Rose Big Campathon ‘! Lots of excited kids played games until dark , toasted Marshmallows and got cosy in their sleeping bags as they helped raise funds in a fun filled way for this fabulous local cause .
Danny hoped to raised £1,000, so on the Sunday morning when the he checked the amount pledged he was overwhelmed to see the amount sitting at £3,321.00.
Danny would like to thank the great response from the club’s coaches and players and cannot thank everyone enough that donated to this fabulous cause.
Bonnyrigg Rose Community Football Clubs 2007’s coaches were approached by Hearts F C Community lead Chalky White and the SFA’s Chaplain , Mark Fleming (who also delivers some of Bonnyrigg Roses’s Community Clubs Positive Mental Health sessions) to see if they were interested in going on a journey of sharing and supporting by visiting and supporting, Children in Rwanda.
The trip as a follow up to Tranent Colts and Hearts who went out to visit Rwanda previously and thought it would be great to get other Community and Legacy clubs involved.
David Hamilton and Dave Fairgrieve both put their names forward and before they knew it along with 16 coaches from Hearts, Tranent, Spartans, Penicuik, Murieston, Ormiston Clubs, the fundraising started, football kits were collected and Bonnyrigg Rose Teams contributed by donating toothpaste, toothbrushes and ankle socks which the team travelling were taking for some of the poorest kids in Rwanda. Collectively, the 16 coaches took over 100kg of items with them.
The Coaches visited schools affected by the genocide, coached at over 10 locations across the country and saw many interesting and unusual football pitches. They coached disabled kids, youths, boys girls.
During the trip the coaches visited 3 genocide memorial sites which really resonated and helped them understand the culture of Rwanda bit more. The 3 sites had 300000 bodies buried in them . This was very reflective experience .
The beauty of the country is a contrast to the horrors that took place previously. There is a remarkable spirit of community and togetherness that all the coaches took inspiration from.
Their gratitude for the gifts was met with a plea to tell the story of their country and to come back again.
During the trip we visited many projects supporting young people ans we plan to continue to support a project from Bonnyrigg. We hope this story inspires other to get involved in this project in the future. It was a once in a lifetime experience.
When a request went out to the age groups in the Football Club to see if anyone could donate Easter Eggs that could go out with the Emergency Grocery Supplies that the club is currently supporting in the community , the response was simply overwhelming ! Over £700.00 worth of Easter Eggs have been donated and will make lots of children’s Easter , just a little bit more special.
A huge thanks to all the age groups that supported this cause and the coaches who dropped off Easter Eggs in their hundreds ! A very special thanks to our next door neighbours at ‘Lasswade Rugby Club’ , who very kindly donated over 80 Easter Eggs .
What a fabulous effort ..
The Football Club along with other Community Groups in the area , ( Bonnyrigg Neighbourhood Help , Bonnyrigg Community Events, Bonnyrigg After School Club, Bonnyrigg Community Development Trust Bonnyrigg and Lasswade Community Council and Poltonhall Community Council have come together to help where we can in supporting the community in this current Covid 19 crisis. Local organisations are co- ordinating helpers for those that need support to get shopping or need prescriptions and through funding allocated by Midlothian Council there have been two pop up emergency grocery points created to make sure no one goes without the essential items we all need to survive.
If you need someone to help get your shopping and have the means to pay yourself – please go on to facebook – look for the ‘ Bonnyrigg Neighbourhood Help’ page and you will guided to complete a form.
If you need help to fund essentials and need some groceries please get in touch with the following organisations
We’re here to help …
https://www.facebook.com/Bonnyrigg-Emergency-Response-Team-102672371395197/
MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT
Remember that ‘Health In Mind’ ( the group that run the Clubs ‘#MidlothianMenMatter’ group ) are still operating and are offering crisis support in Midlothian over the phone . If you need help with you mental health you can call 0131 663 5533 to receive some support.
Dear Parents/ Carers/ Members ,
It’s been a very difficult week for everyone as we all realise the impact of Corona Virus in our lives. We’ve all got concerns and issues related to the current situation we all find ourselves living in .
The club understandably was being asked about ongoing membership fees given that matches/ training have been put on hold as guidance was issued by the SFA which saw football close down across the country. All coaches should have communicated the outcome of the options suggested after much consultation.
The positive response and support has been fantastic and we are so grateful that Parents/ Carers value what their child gets out of being part of the Football Club in the way they do. We would like to say a massive thanks to the coaches at the club. These guys give up their own time to coach the kids that attend the football and the passion they feel about ensuring the club has a positive future after all this unsettlement has been evident this week.
We would like to reassure members, if you are impacted financially by the current situation, please contact trish@bonnyriggrose.org.uk in confidence.
In terms of the clubs community commitments, given that most of the groups we work with and support are in the more vulnerable category, activities are all on hold. The club has offered to support locally in the community in any way it can .
Thank you for your continuous support,
The Management Team ..
BRCFC