Argyle Community Trust

COVID Impact Report Launched

We are delighted to announce the launch of our COVID Impact Report, outlining the significant work undertaken by both Argyle and the Argyle Community Trust to support local families, communities, and individuals during the pandemic.

When football was paused and the world seemingly ground to a halt in March 2020, the club, coupled with our official charity Argyle Community Trust, immediately set out to play our part for the city and wider region.

The Argyle Community Trust had launched a new strategy in 2019, but, when the pandemic hit, Trust leadership quickly realised some of our strategic aims could not be fulfilled. With daily announcements being made by the government, Trust and Argyle staff combined to take prompt action – beginning with handing Home Park Stadium over to the NHS for phlebotomy and antenatal services. Now, some 18 months later, it serves as a large-scale vaccination centre, helping the people of Plymouth find a route out of social distancing.

In publishing our COVID impact report, we are able to quantify and take stock of our achievements over the past 18 months, and underline the vital work that Argyle and the Community Trust undertake in our region.

Of course, the club’s impactful response to COVID-19 could not have been delivered alone, and we thank partners for their generous support, as well as that of the Green Army, whose overwhelming positivity and spirit has made our work possible.

Argyle Community Trust CEO Mark Lovell adds: “The COVID-19 pandemic presented huge challenges to the Trust and its people. As the official charity partner of Plymouth Argyle FC we worked hard to identify the vulnerable groups we could support in the Plymouth, Devon and Cornwall communities we serve.

“This made us more determined than ever to use the combined resources of Argyle to help in any way we could.  We are extremely proud to have helped the individuals and organisations in their greatest time of need, including supporting the incredible work of the NHS.“

We are by no means finished with our work in relation to COVID-19. There is a need for ongoing support, and we aim to ensure we can support those most in need through our outreach work, and through the power of Plymouth Argyle Football Club.”

Club CEO Andrew Parkinson adds, “The club has long been associated with its strong community links, but the COVID-19 pandemic has presented a huge challenge for all of us.

“We often speak of our Vision and Values, and our identity as a club for our community, but our COVID impact report evidences, with clear data, just what our efforts have amounted to.

“Our focus has been centred around supporting the NHS operation wherever we can, reaching out and supporting the community that we serve, while also looking after our staff.

“Overall, it underlines how in these worst of times the club and the Trust have been able to demonstrate and live by the values it has set out and the importance it places on the community it is part of.”

To read the report in full, click here.