3/1 To Win
Tuesday (20th March) saw the Derby County Community Trust celebrate the success of Active Recovery, a cancer exercise and rehabilitation programme.
The event at Pride Park Stadium was a part of the EFL Day of Action, which saw all 72 EFL Clubs come together on the same day to demonstrate the positive impact football can have on people’s lives.
The Active Recovery programme, which was formed in 2017, is a healthy lifestyle programme which supports individuals and families who have been living with the consequences of cancer within the last five years.
It has helped over 100 people in the last six months, giving them the opportunity to receive one-to-one support and take part in a range of fitness activities to suit their recovery.
On the day, the Community Trust worked in partnership with local charity MStart and Derby Hospital to welcome current participants from the programme and groups who could soon be accessing it.
Barrie Payton, Sarah Spencer and John Lear, all of whom have been involved with the programme, shared their inspirational stories to the packed-out room speaking very highly of Active Recovery and how Derby County Community Trust staff have helped them.
Special guests and former professional footballers Stiliyan Petrov and Geoff Horsfield attended the event, both of whom battled with cancer during their playing careers. Whilst Club Ambassador Michael Johnson hosted the event alongside former Telegraph Journalist and DCCT Trustee Nick Britten.
Both Petrov and Horsfield took part in a Q&A and shared how their own experiences shaped their lives. Both showed a lot of admiration for everyone in the room.
Everyone present took the opportunity to take part in chair aerobics session, similar to one which would take place for those on the Active Recovery programme.
Following the event, Club Ambassador Johnson said: “I’m proud to be an ambassador for such a fantastic club that is making so many waves across the community.
"It’s not just about the what happens on the pitch, it’s the wider things that we do and to put on these active health clinics which support people who are suffering with cancer, whether that’s through a relative or themselves being diagnosed, is fantastic.”
He added: “There are so many programmes that this football club runs that actually aren’t about the Saturday afternoon, it’s about what we’re doing and it’s saving people’s lives. You can’t put a price on that.”
Barrie Payton, who is part of the Active Recovery programme said: “People need to know more about the work that clubs are doing in national health and getting these things done. It’s brilliant that Derby County do this.”
Stiliyan Petrov, whose battle with Leukemia was widely documented, was impressed with what he had seen on the day: “Active Recovery is something that is not just a one-off thing, it’s about people when they go through the treatment, when they go through remission and afterwards because they find it very difficult to recover after everything they have been through.”
He added: “To put on a day like today raises a lot of awareness and lets people know that people are fighting, it’s a great thing.”
Learn more about the Derby County Community Trust and their work by visiting www.derbycountycommunitytrust.com.
The day saw all 72 EFL clubs come together for the EFL’s Community Day of Action to highlight and showcase the impact of this work in towns and cities nationwide.
Follow the EFL’s Community Day of Action by searching #EFLDayOfAction on Twitter.
