Throughout the festive season, the Aston Villa Foundation has been taking steps to make Christmas a special time of year for local families.
The club’s official charity has been working hard to provide special experiences to deserving people, with their work made possible by the club’s Supporting our Own initiative as well as support from the Premier League and the PFA.
Here are a few heart-warming stories from this festive season…
Young Villan awarded mascot opportunity for Alopecia awareness
Following a visit from Diego Carlos, Lamare Bogarde and Sil Swinkels to our Sutton Coldfield Soccer Schools in October, young Villan Ethan Hall was awarded a mascot experience for Aston Villa’s game against Southampton.
Ethan lives with alopecia, an auto-immune disease, which causes the body to attack the hair follicles, causing hair loss. Over 100,000 people in the UK live with the condition.
Carla and Ken, Ethan’s parents, shared: “Ethan has experienced moments in his journey where it has been quite tough, but he is at an age where he just wants to take the opportunity to educate people about the condition.
“Today’s event has been quite emotional, meeting the players and seeing Ethan’s face when he was presented with the mascot opportunity was just magical. He is going to be talking about this all year.”
Community Groups get Festive
Over 70 guests from Age UK’s Dementia Café and local community groups were invited to attend a Festive Meal with the Foundation at Villa Park.
The meal, organised by the Foundation’s Community Relations department, is an opportunity for smaller organisations in Birmingham to connect with us and the club, building and strengthening relationships and ensuring Aston Villa is a good neighbour in the community.
Guests were treated to a delicious festive lunch, courtesy of catering partner Levy, as well as taking part in a Christmas-themed quiz, hosted by talkSPORT’s Rupert Bell.
They were also joined by eight players from Aston Villa’s Under-18s, who joined in the quiz and handed out gifts to our guests.
Foundation support Shoebox Appeal
As part of our festive activities, the Foundation has collaborated with Migrant Help UK who have donated over 4,500 shoe box gifts containing toiletries, hats, scarves, gloves and sweet treats to refugee families living in hotels across Birmingham.
Volunteers have been helping to wrap and pack these gifts at the Aston Pavilion, operated by Bidgley Power Foundation.
Big Toy Trade with Trade Nation
Working with principal partner Trade Nation, we encouraged fans to donate pre-loved or new toys to Villa Park, helping us spread holiday cheer to children in the community.
Two-hundred-and-fifty donations were made, with toys distributed to participants from Foundation programmes and projects as well as Home-Start North and Inner City, who have remained a solid link in the community for the Foundation.
Participants of our Care Leavers programme were also on hand to help wrap the presents.
Nafisa Gharda from Home-Start Birmingham North and Inner City, shared: “I would like to say the biggest thank you to Aston Villa, the Foundation and Trade Nation for supporting us. We work and support families in Aston, and it is such a nice way to round up and support the families this Christmas, to make sure they have everything they need.
“Although it is a difficult time for some, it is a time for people to gather round and help, and Aston Villa is one of them.”
