Welcome to Kenilworth Road for our last match of 2009.
Today we entertain Eastbourne Borough. They will be a tough challenge as they try and collect more points to move themselves away from the relegation zone. They have not gained the points they would like on the road this season but nevertheless they have been able to pick up a third of their points tally so far from their travels.
We welcome their players, staff and supporters to Kenilworth Road and we look forward to a good and fair game of football.
The staff and board of the Club hope you all enjoyed your festive period and we hope the players can give a performance to remember as we bring the year to a close.
The Christmas period is a good time to reflect on those less fortunate than ourselves. It is a time that we try and help those around us and ensure that everyone has something to celebrate. For us at the Club, the festive season is not the only time that we try and help others. During the course of 2009 we have been proud to start a number of initiatives that have benefited the community.
At the beginning of the year we launched our 'Play For Success' programme alongside our sponsors and partners.
This has had phenomenal results so far and we are delighted with its success. In its first year over 1,500 children from in excess of 20 schools across Luton have benefited from the courses we offer and we now have the capacity to achieve double that number over the next year.
In addition, and with our partners Active Luton, the Adult and Community Learning Department and Luton Airport, we are offering programmes such as Flying for Success, The Hatters' Reading Challenge and the Hatters Double Club.
A football festival was held at Kenilworth Road and this involved over 400 youngsters. We have now teamed up with the UK Carnival Arts Centre to deliver a joint project linking the arts with football. The Play for Success programme will continue to go from strength to strength as we aim to reach out and help the younger generation.
Additionally, we have helped over 130 local causes and charities this year as they look to raise money for very worthy reasons. This has included a number of things - from guest appearances of Happy Harry, to involvement from the players and directors, provision of auction items, bucket collections, player endorsements and partnerships to raise money.
On top of that we have helped a number of Bedfordshire schools in their coursework by organising tours of the ground for classes and teachers and giving youngsters the chance of work experience.
For young adults we have helped University students in their projects by giving advice on theses, conducting interviews for media students, answering sports management questionnaires, judging final year coursework at Bedfordshire University, as well as offering gap year internships where we can. We have covered students who are studying sport, business, media, physiotherapy, and sports management to name a few.
We are also delighted to be part of the planning for 'Luton in Harmony' of which we are sure you will hear a lot more in the coming months, but suffice to say this is an all-inclusive initiative aimed at the entire community of Luton.
The Football in the Community Department continues to help and coach hundreds of children from across the county so that our reach is not just limited to Luton. Again, a huge amount of interaction with children to help them develop their talents.
On top of this we are pleased to announce that after nine months of planning, the Club has now received confirmation that we have gained grant funding to open a Learning Centre at Kenilworth Road.
This funding has been hard to gain against stiff competition but it is a substantial sum that will allow us to install a top-class learning environment from scratch.
We will be working with the other excellent centres in the area so that between us we can offer the best courses for the community. It will provide at least two classrooms with a fully functional IT suite that will enable courses to be offered to supporters and the community. These courses will include NVQ accredited courses, courses to help people retrain, online courses and exams, courses to help people get back into work in these difficult times, as well as non-qualification bearing courses aimed at helping individuals better themselves.
As you can see, the club is doing an unprecedented level of community work, never done before. This is a key part of achieving our cornerstone of 'being part of the community' which was one of our top five objectives when we became custodians of the Club and one that will breed a new generation of Hatters fans.
We thank all the staff involved in achieving these excellent results - results of which many 'big' teams are jealous - and this goes to show the immense amount of hard work they put in for the Club and the community.
On that note, it only remains for all of us at the Club to thank you again for your patience and support, and to wish you a very happy and successful 2010!
Stephen.
