Whilst its activities on the pitch receive most of the attention, the club has been rightly praised for taking its social responsibilities very seriously as well.
To this end, it is worth noting that a huge amount of time, money, and effort is spent on strengthening West Ham united's position in east London and Essex, not only as an employer but as a major leisure activity and benefactor of the area.
This is the club's statement on social responsibility.
STATEMENT ON SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
CHARITIES POLICY
The football club supported three charities during the year, all
of which received money from our Charity Shield fund:
· The Bobby Moore Fund for Imperial Cancer Research
· Richard House Trust Children's Hospice
· Winged Fellowship - a local charity for disabled
people
We also supported The FA Premier League's NSPCC day
FOOTBALL IN THE COMMUNITY
Our Football in the Community scheme is part of the Footballers' Further Education and Vocational Training Society and nine full-time staff were employed by the scheme this season.
During the past year we have provided 5,596 sessions for 100,599 participants as detailed below through each of the respective initiatives.
Thames Gateway Youth Football Project
This is a Single Regeneration Budget funded project run in conjunction with Leyton Orient, Millwall and Charlton Athletic which covers the boroughs of Newham , Tower Hamlets, Havering, Barking & Dagenham, Waltham Forest, Thurrock, Dartford, Lewisham and Redbridge, tackling social exclusion, juvenile crime and truancy in some of the most deprived areas of London. Through this project we work with 8-19 year olds providing:-
· After school clubs
· Coaching sessions on housing estates with
particular problems of deprivation and crime
· Probation programme
· Truancy programme
· Coach education programme
North East London Probation Service (NELPS)
Our partnership with NELPS and Barking College targets young people across five London boroughs who have offended or are at risk of offending by offering coaching sessions and an accreditation scheme which enables students to become coaches and sports administrators. Issues such as truancy, unemployment, alcohol dependency and drug abuse are confronted by crime diversion strategies using football as a vehicle to progress users from "offending to employment". This year the project has concentrated on accreditation and so far 26 young people have obtained qualifications which will enable them to return to training and employment. We are also working alongside Newham youth offending team helping young students through their reparation order and into secure employment as a result.
640 sessions have been provided for 2,250 referrals.
Railtrack
In partnership with Railtrack, we provide a visiting officer for schools in accident hotspot areas, giving talks highlighting the dangers of living near railway lines and covering subjects such as criminal damage and trespassing.
Summer Roadshows
Coaching is provided in partnership with Local Authority Summer Play Schemes at local parks, allowing young people access to football coaching in their immediate neighbourhood.
Community Coaching
2,880 sessions have been provided for 66,080 participants throughout Hertfordshire and Essex.
Holiday Football Courses
28 week long courses were attended by 2,949 participants.
Girls' and Women's Football
Girls only sessions are provided in Tower Hamlets, Newham and Redbridge in order to introduce young females to football both as players and coaches.
Learning Through Football
This initiative targets local schools and educates children in anti-racist attitudes, integration, fitness, diet and nutrition. 120 sessions, which include football training at our stadium, were provided for 1,200 children.
THE PRINCE'S TRUST VOLUNTEERS PROGRAMME
We are very committed to helping The Prince's Trust Football Programme and hold an annual presentation evening at the club. This season we also offered work placements to the volunteers and arranged a talk for them at the start of their programme
The Prince's Trust Football Initiative is a personal development programme for 16-25 year olds and aims to develop such key skills as team work, communication, caring for others, problem solving and accepting responsibility. The programme encourages self assessment and brings together, in teams of ten, young people of different abilities, experience, circumstances and backgrounds. The twelve week course encourages participants to contribute directly to their local community and aims to increase their employment prospects.
Over the year nine teams of volunteers from Newham, three from Redbridge and three from Barking & Dagenham (over 180 young people) embarked on local environment projects and raised the funds necessary to carry out those projects. Of the young people unemployed prior to joining the programme, 65% went on to employment or further education and training within three months of their course. In addition, many of those volunteers continued to carry out voluntary work.
PLAYING FOR SUCCESS
Our Study Support Centre is jointly funded by Newham Council, the DfEE and the football club. This season we ran 10-week programmes which were intended to motivate pupils and encourage the development of skills in literacy, numeracy and information communication technology (ICT). Our classes were divided into small groups usually of four to five pupils and aided by a classroom assistant and a peer mentor. Students were set a variety of football based exercises with the aim of making learning fun. Our activities made extensive use of ICT software packages such as Microsoft Word, Excel, Powerpoint and Netscape.
Since January 2001 the centre has been operating at a reduced capacity as a result of the building work taking place at the stadium. From January to April 2001 the centre provided on-site learning opportunities for 360 pupils from 11 different Newham schools. The centre has been closed since April 2001 but the staff have provided sessions in Newham schools. 1,020 pupils are benefiting from our off-site provision. The Study Support Centre will re-open in its new purpose built classroom in the Dr Martens stand in January 2002 and will be able to offer more pupils even better learning opportunities.
DRAWING NEWHAM
Under the guidance of Art Project Management we have collaborated with the London Borough of Newham and the Campaign for Drawing to devise a three year education and outreach project to run in conjunction with the commission of the bronze sculpture 'Champions'. The aim is to "show how drawing can play a bigger part in everyone's lives, not for its sake but because it helps us to see". A resident artist, Leslie Bicknell, will work in schools, community groups and the club to develop a series of small projects which address various concepts of mobility and identity, using drawing, football and community as conceptual springboards.
COMMUNITY LEARNING & EMPLOYMENT SUPPORT NETWORK PROJECT
This project was established in partnership with Newham College of Further Education and provides facilities to assist local residents to acquire skills and qualifications using ICT as a principal medium of training. A Community Learning Centre was set up in the stadium offering flexible learning to suit each individual's pace of training and time commitment. The new Dr Martens stand will provide a permanent classroom for a new Government initiative - UFI LearnDirect - which offers an online opportunity to access the main hub at Newham College where Learning Skills Council funded courses in ICT, basic skills and business can be accessed.
ASIANS IN FOOTBALL
This project is run in partnership with Sport England to encourage
Asian participation in football. The scheme provides
opportunities for young Asian players of all abilities to progress
from grass roots to excellence through the club and 1,276 sessions
have been provided for 25,520 participants. The project
continues to be extremely effective and attracts positive national
media coverage as a model of good practice for addressing issues of
social inclusion and integration. The project also provides
Coach Education opportunities for players from Asian communities in
addition to tutoring courses for local teachers to gain The FA
teaching qualification. The scheme has attracted a grant from
the Home Office in recognition of the integration work carried out
within the borough of Newham.
Schools PE Programme
At grass roots level a structured programme of coaching was
provided which was consistent with National Curriculum Key Stage
2/3 requirements within existing PE lessons. The sessions
were structured in such a way that beginners could learn football
skills and techniques in a supportive environment.
FA Teaching Certificate Courses
Provided for local teachers, these courses were designed and delivered to increase technical awareness and to generate confidence and enthusiasm to promote football within local schools. Gaining the FA qualification encourages teachers to be involved in the overall process of progressing young Asian players.
Coaches Development Scheme
The scheme enables young Asian players to develop the appropriate skills required to progress and attend the FA coaching certificate course. Once qualified the trainees are able to function independently and provide well organised and structured coaching.
Technique Development Performance Coaching
These sessions operate in conjunction with the PE programme to enable players who demonstrated potential to develop further. Players attending such courses were referred to local amateur teams, thus enabling them to benefit from coaching and competitive matchplay. Ultimately, promising Asian players will be integrated into the Club's mainstream structures via the existing performance squads.
Sponsored Game
The Canary Wharf Group sponsored a tour from the Abhani Club of Bangladesh who played a game against the West Ham United under-19 side at the Boleyn Ground in front of a predominantly Bangladeshi 5,000 crowd.
DEALING WITH RACIST BEHAVIOUR
To deal directly with racism at the Boleyn Ground we promote the Kick It Out hotline in our match day programme and work to a common strategy with the local police force to tackle racist behaviour. Our ground regulations prohibit racist behaviour and if we receive a report of such behaviour we ask plain-clothes stewards or police officers to examine the situation and provide evidence if necessary. If such behaviour is confirmed the offender is arrested and subsequently banned.
FACILITIES FOR DISABLED SUPPORTERS
Tickets for our disabled supporters are available from the ticket office. Gina Allen deals with all enquiries and also works in the disabled area on match days. Gina can be contacted on 020 8548 2725 or via email [email protected] and full details of our facilities can be found on our website.
Tickets for fans in wheelchairs, the ambulant disabled and visually impaired are available at a cost of £15. Tickets for carers are free of charge. There are 124 wheelchair spaces and 104 seats provided for the ambulant disabled. As recommended by the Task Force, visiting supporters in wheelchairs are situated with their own fans. Supporters who wish to travel to away matches by coach can do so on our official coaches knowing that our stewards will help with access and that the vehicle will be fitted with a lowered platform. Stewards working in the areas of the ground reserved for people with disabilities are trained in disability awareness. If carers are not able to purchase refreshments, either our staff or stewards bring refreshments to the fans on request. Last season we canvassed opinion from our disabled supporters on the new development, sending out 200 questionnaires. As a result a mini-com has been installed in our new ticket office and microport headsets provided for our visually impaired supporters and commentary is provided specifically for them by an experienced commentator. The microport facility can be used anywhere in the ground.
CONSULTATION AND INFORMATION
Our bondholders meet at the club on the third Thursday of every month. Either a director or senior manager attends on a quarterly basis to discuss issues raised by the group.
Our FA Premier League Supporter Panel was held on 13th January 2001 and we took the opportunity at this meeting to ask the supporters what they wanted in the way of facilities in our new Dr Martens Stand, as well as discussing FA Premier League themes such as Customer Charters. We also took part in the National Fans Survey, when 4,000 questionnaires, covering a wide range of topics from televised matches and internet access to club services and facilities were sent to our supporters.
STAFF CONDUCT
We expect and require all our staff to conduct themselves in accordance with the highest ethical standards both on and off club premises. Our staff, supporters and all applicants for employment are regarded equally and are given equal opportunities irrespective of their race, colour, nationality, religion, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, age, disability or ethnic origin.