Marcus Rashford in partnership with Burberry donate £25k to Woodhouse Park Lifestyle Community Centre
We are truly honoured and humbled that as part of Marcus Rashford partnership with Burberry our Woodhouse Park Lifestyle Centre will receive a £25,000 investment which will transform the well used sports hall and to help maintain the popular 5-aside football pitches at the centre.
Woodhouse Park Lifestyle Centre is in the heart of Marcus Rashford’s home town of Wythenshawe in Manchester. The centre plays a vital role in the community 7 days a week from active youth clubs, football and basketball to a vibrant café and groups for older people and those with disabilities. During the Covid-19 pandemic the café has made hundreds of hot meals for older people isolated and without support.
Not only that but a group of young volunteers from Norbrook Youth Club and the Woodhouse Park Lifestyle Centre will work together to donate £10,000 to local charities and community groups that they believe will make the most positive change in their community.
Wythenshawe Community Housing Groups Executive Director of Housing and Community Investment, Paul Seymour said, “The Woodhouse Park Lifestyle Centre is a gem at the heart of our community. The centre offers a wide range of support services that bring local people – both young and old - together and help them live well. Last year alone, almost 600 of our young people volunteered their time, giving back to their local community as we work to become a City of Social Action. Marcus Rashford having been part of the youth club means a lot here. We’re delighted to receive this donation from Burberry, which will support the lasting legacy we are building for the future generation of the Wythenshawe community.
Young people in Wythenshawe are hugely proud of Marcus Rashford and what he’s achieved, and impressed that he remembers where he’s come from. He’s an inspiration to work hard and give back to your community. We want to help children and young people play active roles in their communities and shape the future of Manchester so that we become the world’s first City of Social Action.
We create job opportunities, giving the long-term unemployed and young apprentices a chance at on-the-job training at the centre and a step up to better prospects. We are proud to play host to some fantastic organisations making a real impact on the lives of people in the Wythenshawe area.
With over 3,000 people taking part in sports and leisure activities at the centre last year and providing services to more than 29,000 in the Wythenshawe community we believe we are making a positive difference to the health and wellbeing of people’s lives.
Youth social action
Our youth and sports clubs run 6 nights a week and the last year alone more than 1,000 young people have been a regular part of life at the centre. Youth work prepares young people for life. Last year alone 586 of our young people volunteered to give their time back to their local community. Activities organised by our young people included fundraising for a youth homelessness charity, running activities for older people and campaigning for positive change in their community.
Our ambition – to become a City of Social Action
The City of Social Action seeks to make Manchester the place for youth voice, youth leadership and real change led by children and young people themselves.
We know if young people are at the heart of their communities, shaping their futures, then those communities will be better for everyone.
What is youth work?
Our qualified youth workers support young people aged between 11 and 25 years. Youth work seeks to promote young people’s personal and social development and enable them to have a voice, influence and place in their communities and society as a whole. It builds resilience and character and gives young people the confidence and life skills they need to live, learn, work and achieve.
