Morton in the Community celebrated 5th birthday
Morton in the Community, the charitable arm of Greenock Morton, officially turned 5 years old on 31st of March. To celebrate, the charity had dedicated the week of 26th of March till 31st of March to their community activities. Throughout the week, special events took place and fans were invited to come along and participate.
Using the hashtag #Celebrating5Years, for the last 7 days Morton in the Community had been actively sharing stories on their special events, polls and birthday wishes on all social media channels of the Community Trust, the clubs channels and on the website.
One of the unique events Morton in the Community held for their birthday celebration was the search for Cappie the Cat, the club’s mascot. On 30th of March, before the Easter weekend, Cappie the Cat appeared in 10 different locations the Inverclyde area. Participants had to find Cappie in one of these locations to win different prizes, including match tickets. This event was a great success, with many local children happily participating and finding the mascot, as well as positive feedback from their parents. Morton in the Community documented the whole event on Twitter:
#Celebrating5Years | Friday 30th March, Cappie the Cat is going on an adventure around Inverclyde https://t.co/CHesfDVD4r… pic.twitter.com/0lj8C7xpkL
— Morton Community (@MortonCommunity) March 28, 2018
Also, the home fixture against Dundee United on Saturday 31 March was Morton’s first ever Community Day. The charity invited everyone to come early and join in the fun before the game started. With pre-game activities like the penalty challenge with Cappie the Cat and mid-game activities like small-sided matches of Morton FC’s community players, the matchday was an joyful event for everyone involved. The Ton also wore a special one-off kit to mark the charity’s birthday. Moreover, as part of the Community Day the charity held a bucket collection and asked fans to donate in order to grow and sustain the existing project deliveries, and to help Morton in the Community continue to be “The Heartbeat of Inverclyde”.
All activities during the Community Day were updated on Twitter as well:
🎉 | Heading to @Morton_FC vs @dundeeunitedfc ?
Arrive early and help us celebrate our 5th Birthday. #Celebrating5Years https://t.co/9Gpjhpgapy
— Morton Community (@MortonCommunity) March 31, 2018
Lastly, to cap it off, the 5th birthday charity dinner was held to celebrate 5 years of engagement, activity and impact with the local community of Inverclyde and to look forward to a bright future for Morton in the Community.
#Celebrating5Years | town hall looking splendid ahead of this evenings fundraising dinner to mark our fifth birthday. #morethanfootball pic.twitter.com/f3PhfUXSqN
— Morton Community (@MortonCommunity) March 31, 2018
The 5th anniversary of Morton in the Community came during a special occasion as well with the charity officially participating in the 2018 #Morethanfootball Action Weeks. From 21 March to 8 April, the charity will be joining other football clubs around Europe showcasing and celebrating their best community work. For more details on the Action Weeks, click here.
Two special videos, capturing the great work Morton in the Community has done for the past 5 years, can be seen below:
Morton in the Community
Morton in the Community has been a very active member of EFDN with great contributions to the Network and to the field of CSR in football throughout the years.
Since the inception of Morton in the Community in March 2013, Greenock Morton FC have been committed to the mission statement of being ‘The Heartbeat of Inverclyde’. Football and Greenock Morton are the hook to engage our community in Inverclyde to impact and change lives for the better.
THE FOUR KEY AREAS OF FOCUS ARE:
- To encourage mass participation and enjoyment in sport.
- To develop creative educational programmes.
- To develop employability programmes with special engagement with those furthest from the labour market.
- To tackle health inequalities through health and wellbeing projects.
The charity are currently delivering 22 projects and, within a typical month, see approximately 7,800 engagements with participants across these four focus areas. This equates to around 1,400 unique people on a weekly basis. Finally, their team of eight full-time, three part-time, 10 sessional workers, and over 80 volunteers has delivered 65,000 sessions with people from all walks of life and all ages, from 18 months to 99 years.
Brian McLaughlin, development manager, said:
“It gives me great pleasure to attend work on a daily basis and watch our amazing team of staff, coaches, and volunteers positively impact people lives across Inverclyde. Over the last five years we have seen considerable growth within Inverclyde, and I truly believe through a variety of innovative programmes we really are ‘The Heartbeat of Inverclyde’.”
Gordon McKillop, operations manager, said:
“I’ve had the enormous privilege of working with the Inverclyde community using Greenock Morton FC as the engagement tool for almost four years. Before working with Morton in the Community, I underestimated the reach and impact a football club has. Football clubs across Europe are now changing lives and I’m proud Greenock Morton is a benchmark.”
Micro Morton
