Foundation & MFC Link Up For World Kindness Day

MFC Foundation teamed up with Middlesbrough Football Club on Monday to help spread happiness and joy through various acts of kindness around the Tees Valley region for World Kindness Day 2017.

We kicked off the day with a trip to New Marske allotments, with Roary and his team swinging by to greet some excited children from the local New Marske Primary School and their families. The allotments provide a strong community bond for the locals in the area, and the club were delighted to gift them some quality gardening equipment, presented by the club’s dedicated ground staff.

Our next stop was at the Halcyon Centre, a day centre in Thornaby that provides a friendly and sociable environment for older members of the community who, for various reasons find it more difficult to get out and about by themselves. Members of Foundation staff, along with Roary the Lion, delivered boxes of Middlesbrough history books to the centre, as they spent over an hour chatting and laughing with the visitors.

The club also kindly donated more gifts, including a tea package from Ringtons, and other goodies courtesy of WH Smith.

From some of Middlesbrough’s oldest fans to some of the youngest, our next visit was to Frederick Nattrass’ Big Families nursery alongside Boro U23’s Ben Liddle and Mitchell Curry. The duo, alongside Foundation staff joined in with play time at the nursery, with Roary proving a popular figure once again by delivering hampers of toys for the children.

Stop four was to Bramble Lodge Care Home in Middlesbrough, and we were greeted by many beaming faces of some of the smiley residents. However, the smiles got even bigger when Boro star George Friend made a special appearance, as he went from resident to resident sharing conversations, posing for photos and handing out autographs.

From the care home to the bowling alley, George, the club and the Foundation went to Hollywood Bowl where four young children were receiving a special treat for their resilience and bravery over the past year. The group, including Acklam Grange pupil Josh, who is part of our Stepping Up programme, were bowled over by spending an afternoon on the lanes with George Friend.

And on his way home, George also stopped by to meet 8-year-old Callum, from Fairfield. Incredibly, Callum raised over £10,000 for Cancer Research after being inspired by his Dad’s battle against the disease.

A brilliant day in the Teesside community was wrapped up at the Riverside, where we presented certificates and a host of prizes to deserving young Boro fans, who had been nominated for their own acts of kindness by visitors to the Generation Red Family Zone.