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QPR Charity Launch: Foreword from Chair of Trust Board

“As vice-chairman of Queen Park Rangers FC and Chairman of QPR in the community I am both honoured and delighted to announce that QPR in the Community has had yet another thriving year providing for young individuals both across London and overseas. Incredibly this has amounted to the scheme reaching some 100,000 young people in the last year; a fantastic accomplishment considering we are not yet a Premiership side. For this exceptional work I would like to convey my sincere thanks to the club’s community team led by Andy Evans. Your work is deeply valued both by staff and supporters but most importantly by those who’s wellbeing has been improved in light of the projects you have implemented."

"Like any other Ranger’s supporter I am always enthralled by what happens on the pitch, but aside from the beautiful game a great attribute of QPR is its substantial involvement with the local community. As a longstanding establishment which regularly brings local people together in a common interest, the club feels it appropriate to actively assist in the development of West London communities. For sometime now we have successfully utilized our club brand to influence and promote community enhancing projects for the youth, both independently and in conjunction with councils. English football in its origin is a territorial sport with many of our supporters having a connection with the surrounding area, so in this respect by assisting communities we are also giving something back to the supporters. Whilst our forte might be football, QPR in the Community offers a broad spectrum of projects encompassing much more than a simple after school kick about. Indeed using the appeal of football the team has affectively tackled many social issues evident within the young community. One such example is the Inspire Football project. Inspire Football is devised to tackle school related problems like truancy and poor motivation to learn. Our community team challenged this by implementing various motivators to encourage school attendance, this included offering professional football training sessions between 7am-8am before the start of school. Another social project I personally feel strongly about is Goals Project. Aimed towards young adults who are unemployed, the project runs on a 5 week programme and is designed to impart new work skills with the view to ultimately facilitate future employment. More importantly however this scheme intends to raise the self-confidence and esteem of such individuals which is most crucial. I believe projects like Goals will be in need more than ever as we weather an unfavourable economic climate."

"A key objective of QPR in the Community is to provide for all youngsters which is why we have worked overseas in the past year. In November our community team travelled to Bahrain to establish a professional soccer camp. With facilities for the sport being scarce the children were most appreciative of the team for visiting and providing ,indeed for some, their first proper football training. We intend to regularly get updates on their progress! The team also continues its work with local disabled children. This year saw the launch of The Tiger Club; an organisation intended specifically for children with Downs Syndrome. Tiger Club provides a regular group session for these children where they undertake fun football activities and further develop on their social interaction. "

"At present QPR in the Community progresses through its 14th year in operation. During this period the range of social subjects addressed by the team has been extensive. From soccer coaching to promoting racial awareness, QPR has endeavoured to provide for local boroughs and overseas. The professionalism applied to the various youth projects has been exceptional, and collectively through such projects QPR has made contact with over half a million children since it launch in 1994. This year will mark an exciting new era for QPR in the Community as it takes on Trust status and I am honoured to take the position of Chair on the board. Becoming a Trust will open up many opportunities for the team where we can further expand on our existing projects, develop new ones and most importantly reach even more children in every coming year."

Amit Bhatia
Vice- Chairman Queen Park Rangers/ Chairman QPR Community