MEMBERS of staff at a County Durham project for people with learning disabilities have praised Sunderland AFC’s Foundation of Light for its ongoing commitment to coaching the group.
Adrian Geary, a support worker at the Go Out and Live (Goal) project, which is based at Pelton, near Chester-le-Street, County Durham, said: “The football sessions are great fun and are great exercise for our service users.
“The Foundation of Light is amazing. The coaches that come down are highly trained and you can see that in the training sessions they provide for the service users.”
He said the foundation had run an initial 20-week course at Pelton Community Centre and was now leading weekly football sessions at an all-weather pitch at Chester-le-Street Football club.
Foundation of Light sport development officer, Joe Clayton, said: “The group is brilliant to work with. We come to Goals because we want to give everyone an opportunity to get involved in sport.
"It’s absolutely fantastic to be able to put smiles on other people’s faces. It gives me a great sense of joy.”
The County Durham Goals programme is managed by Northern communities’ charity, DISC, and is designed for those with learning difficulties to enjoy life to the full.
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