Jarvis named Community patron

West Ham United winger Matt Jarvis has long been impressed with the Club's community outreach work and is now to experience it first hand, having been named patron of the Hammers' Community Sports Trust.

Following in the footsteps of Academy graduate Joe Cole, patron Jarvis will be lending his support to the multitude of Trust programmes, while making selected special appearances to raise the organisation's profile further still. 

Having already been regularly involved in community projects in his two seasons at the Boleyn Ground, the 28-year-old is naturally delighted to take on this new mantle.

He told whufc.com: "It was great to be asked to fulfil the role and help the local community. As a footballer, to give back is the right thing to do and a rewarding thing to do as well."

Jarvis, of course, is treating the responsibility with the utmost seriousness and insists that taking pride in and care of the community goes hand in hand with the role of a footballer.    

"We know as footballers that we're role models to a lot of people, especially young children so it's important to set a good example," he added. "I appreciate that, as a collective, we perhaps don't always have the best of reputations so it's one of the little things we can do to help."

Jarvis knows plenty of the fantastic work the Trust continue to do and is amazed with the breadth of the projects they have on offer.
     
He continued: "It's been fantastic, to be fair. There are so many different things the Club gets involved with, which is absolutely brilliant. There are a lot more projects and schemes than I first thought. It's great to be in a position to give something back and I'm really looking forward to getting started."

Head of Community, West Ham United Community Sports Trust, Joe Lyons said: "We're delighted to have Matt on board. Joe Cole did a fantastic job for us last season and I'm sure Matt will pick up where he left off. This is a hugely exciting time for the Trust and I really hope that that Matt will enjoy getting a glimpse of all the hard work that goes on."