Serving the Teesside Business Community | 21
You’ve got a friend: kids on an MFC Foundation
course meet Boro star George Friend.
YOU COULD BE BORO’S
NEXT BIG SIGNING!
After a busy summer of comings and goings, football’s transfer
window slammed shut. But Middlesbrough Football Club
Foundation are still on the hunt for the perfect signing – and your
business could be it.
H
e is revered on Teesside for his
unstinting financial support of
Middlesbrough Football Club. Less
heralded but equally deserving of
praise is chairman Steve Gibson’s
decision to set up MFC Foundation, the
club’s independent charity arm.
Though it uses the official Boro brand
to engage with various members of the
community, MFC Foundation exists as an
entirely separate entity from the football
club – meaning that it relies on support from
businesses like yours to continue making a
difference across the Tees Valley.
Based at the Willie Maddren Centre in the
East Stand of the Riverside Stadium, the
charity began life in 1996 as Middlesbrough
Football Club in the Community. It was
relaunched as MFC Foundation in 2013, and
in April this year received a Mayor’s Award in
recognition of the service it provides to the
local community.
Alongside Steve Gibson, patrons of the
charity include BBC presenters Alastair
Brownlee and Steph McGovern, as well as
Sky Sports’ Jeff Stelling, while former mayor
of Middlesbrough Ray Mallon has recently
been recruited to the board of trustees as the
Foundation continues to expand.
Operating within four key themes education, health, social inclusion and sport
participation - MFC Foundation provides a
whole host of programmes and initiatives
designed to engage the most disadvantaged
Teesside communities.
A highly successful 2014/15 academic
year saw the Foundation deliver more than
500 qualifications to young people outside
traditional education, involve more than 1,000
people in their health programmes, and host
dedicated football leagues for those who are
homeless, have disabilities or experience
mental health problems.
The Foundation helped reduce crime and
anti-social behaviour in seven of the toughest
wards of Middlesbrough, increased the level
of sport participation in local schools, and
engaged 10,000 people at the Herlingshaw
Centre in South Bank, a first-class sporting
facility which now boasts a newly-refurbished
outdoor 3G pitch.
This is just a glimpse into a year which saw
MFC Foundation make a positive difference
to the lives of more than 30,000 Teesside
people. With the help of your business it
could be even more.
Ann-Marie Anderson, MFC Foundation’s
newly-hired fundraising and sponsorship
manager, says: “Everyone at MFC
Foundation is incredibly proud of what
we have achieved throughout Teesside
communities, and we’re always pushing to
go that extra mile and improve year-on-year.
“But the results we achieve are only
possible thanks to the generous support we
receive from the commercial sector.
Boro player Grant Leadbitter with MFC Foundation’s
Hugh McGouran and Stewart Smith.
“That’s why we’re reaching out once again
to businesses across the Tees Valley – so we
can continue making a difference and raising
aspirations together.”
The benefits for MFC Foundation’s
corporate partners, which currently include
the likes of Cornerstone Business Solutions,
Tees Valley Community Foundation and Tesco
Distribution Centre, are reciprocal. As well
as the chance to give something back to the
community, partners benefit from unique
opportunities for positive publicity and an
exclusive rewards package centred on the
Middlesbrough Football Club brand.
Plus, working with the Foundation will
improve your CSR profile towards both staff
and customers.
With the charity’s 20th birthday rapidly
approaching, there has never been a better
time to sign up and support MFC Foundation
– and make a real difference to Teesside
communities.
Find out more about working with
MFC Foundation by calling 01642 757676
or e-mailing ann-marie.anderson@
mfcfoundation.co.uk