Galway United to partner with Jigsaw for upcoming season
Galway United is doing its bit for youth mental health by making Jigsaw the club’s official charity partner for the 2021 season.
Jigsaw is a charity that offers both in-person and online mental health support services for people aged from 12 to 25 years old in Galway and across Ireland.
The group is run by volunteers and mental health professionals in the hope that they can support young people’s mental health and make support services more accessible.
“Galway United approached us, they showed so much passion about supporting Jigsaw and using their platform and presence in the community to raise awareness and what we need to support young people’s mental health,” said Jigsaw’s Fundraising Manager Justin McDermott.
Under the agreement Galway United will be donating all revenue generated from the sale of match day programmes to the charity. This funding will contribute to Jigsaw’s community support programmes.
“The funds raised will go towards funding our online service delivery for young people and their families. During the last 12 months, Jigsaw like many others have had to adapt and focus on our online services so we are looking to continue our development of those services on our website.
“The second thing it will go towards is the continued roll-out of our education programmes around mental health that we bring to clubs, schools and community groups,” said Mr McDermott.
Jigsaw is also one of Ireland’s leading researchers around mental health. Further funding will enable them to have up-to-date information on the experiences of young people which helps to shape their education programmes.
Mr McDermott said that the charity will also be introducing their ‘One Good Coach’ programme. This course aims to educate everybody within Galway United from the academy squads up to the first team players.
“It’s not just about them supporting us as a charity but also allowing us to upskill and train everybody at the club on how to support people’s mental health and their own through the delivery of sport.
“There will be so many things that we will be using on match days to raise awareness. Even just putting our logo on the captain’s armband, such a small thing but it helps to embed Jigsaw into the fabric of the club,” he said.
Galway United captain Conor McCormack said that he was honoured to have been chosen as the ambassador for this partnership.
“Mental health is so important in modern society with young people going through so much at the moment, particularly with the difficulties of Covid-19 and how it has affected everyone’s daily lives. I want people to know there is help and support out there that they can reach,” he said.
For more Galway Pulse stories click here.
