A Monthly Update from chairman Dan Willis: October

As a new month comes around I think it is important to continue my commitment to communication and keeping the community in the loop with things surrounding the club, it's been a very busy but also a very exciting period at AFC Mackworth and I wanted to take a moment to update you all.

In the last week or so we announced a joint-project with MECA (Mackworth Estate Community Association) that we are incredibly proud of, the boot exchange! The boot exchange scheme is an initiative that well help families recycle and access quality football boots at no cost and ensure that players, no matter their financial situation, will have no issues finding some boots to play football.

To help spread the word I recently spoke with Becky Measures on BBC Radio Derby to further promote the boot exchange scheme and highlight the positive impact that this scheme can and I'm sure will have on our football community.

Based at the MECA charity shop on Drayton Avenue, the boot exchange is starting to fill up but we still need more before we can open. If you have any old boots that you are willing to donate you can just drop them at the charity shop or contact the club with your address so we can collect them. Every pair will make a difference!

Thanks to the hard work going on behind the scenes and the support of various funding partners we have successfully secured funding towards essential pitch maintenance equipment. This is a huge step towards improving the quality and durability of our playing surfaces for everyone at the club and will massively improve the playing experience for our players.

Although we have been able to secure funding we are still not quite at our goal of £8000 and that is where you, our community, come in to help us. We have launched a Crowdfunder campaign to help push us towards that goal. Every donation, big or small, will help out more than you can imagine and if you aren't able to donate then not to worry, sharing the link helps too.

We will also be working with some local community shops who have kindly allowed us to place collection boxes in their shop to collect any donations possible, so keep your eyes peeled for them in the local area! If any other shops may be willing to have one of our collection boxes placed inside please contact [email protected] to help support your local community club.

Keep your eyes peeled for any more fundraising plans we may have!

I am delighted to say that our kits have finally arrived and all teams were handed them last week in time for the games at the weekend. We are proud of the outcome and knowing that we are wearing a kit designed by somebody within our community to celebrate our 10th year as a football club makes it even more sweet, so once again thank you to everybody who entered a design to our competition.

We are in the process of our official kit launch, so keep your eyes on our social media pages to see that. We cannot wait to see your feedback.

And finally I would like to reiterate that as we continue to grow, so does our need for more volunteers across all areas of the club. From coaching and matchday support, to admin, fundraising and plenty more. Even if you aren't keen on the pitch, there is something off the pitch for you to help out with. If you are interested in getting involved contact our social media pages or [email protected].

AFC Mackworth is built on community and without all of our current volunteers our club would simply not be able to run like it does today, so thank you to each and every one of you who continue to commit your spare time to us.

The progress we're making together is a testament to the amazing community we have here in Mackworth, here's to continuing building something very special.