Portsmouth Football Club Magazine July 2020 | Page 2

We are
Portsmouth
Welcome to this issue of Together We Achieve,
put together during exceptional times. We’re
all navigating a new type of normal. Football is
being played behind closed doors and for many,
our homes have been thrust into new roles as
office, school, university and playground.
Community spirit has never been more
important – the message of our partnership,
‘Together We Achieve,’ never more apt.
The unique connection that Portsmouth F.C.
has with its community is fundamental to our
partnership as Main Club Partner. Our work
together to inspire and support young people to
achieve is at the heart of our collaboration and
we both want to play a key role in the economic,
educational and cultural life of our city. We are
proud to be part of Portsmouth.
In this magazine you can read about some of
the highlights of our three-year partnership so
far. You’ll also hear from players about the role
university has played in their lives.
We hope you enjoy this issue and perhaps
even find food for thought on how you can get
involved in efforts to make our world a better
place.
Contents
02 Community news
03 Combining professional
sport with study
Jade Widdows
05 Defending Pompey
and the planet
Christian Burgess
07 Tackling plastic together
09 My placement year
at Portsmouth F.C.
Dan Coleman
11 Football and working
on the frontline
Rosie McDonnell
13 Academy players get
dental check-ups
Professor Graham Galbraith
Vice-Chancellor
UNIVERSITY
OF PORSTMOUTH
Mark Catlin
Chief Executive Officer
PORTSMOUTH
FOOTBALL CLUB
Community news
During these challenging
times, Pompey players have
been delivering vital goods and
medicine helping to ensure that
supplies reach vulnerable and
self-isolating people in the city.
Members of the squad have
been volunteering their
services to deliver food and
other essential items as well
as checking smoke alarms for
Hamphire Fire and Rescue.
They have joined staff from
the Club and Pompey in the
Community (PitC) in lending a
hand during the coronavirus
pandemic as part of the
HIVE Portsmouth campaign,
supporting the area’s most
vulnerable residents during
lockdown.
Clare Martin, CEO at PitC,
said: ‘We’ve been doing
about 60-70 deliveries a day,
collecting goods from various
organisations and visiting
foodbanks, as well as people’s
doorsteps.’
University staff and students
are also helping the local
community to stay safe and
well.
The University of Portsmouth
has supplied 2,000 shields to
Queen Alexandra Hospital in
Portsmouth and other NHS
Trusts to allow their front line
staff, from anaesthetists to
nurses, to work safely.
A further 1,500 face shields
are being made for Hampshire
Fire and Rescue Service, and
Hampshire Constabulary and
the University has sufficient
plastic to produce another
9,000 to 10,000 shields.
The shield’s laser cut design
reduces the time it takes to
produce a mask from oneto-two
hours to less than 30
seconds.
Ted Turnbull, Senior Lecturer
in Creative Technologies in the
Faculty of Creative and Cultural
Industries, is leading the
collaborative research effort.
He said: ‘The design and
manufacturing method will
allow the University to produce
thousands of shields, so that
front line medical staff in
the city and across the UK
will be able to benefit from
the protection offered by the
shield.’
A number of departments
across the University have
also been donating vital
supplies of personal protective
equipment (PPE) to healthcare
professionals and key workers
as they work on the frontlines
of the coronavirus pandemic.
Keep updated at
port.ac.uk/news
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