A junior football club has been gifted £1,000 by our North East division to help fund a move to buy a practice ball for every member.

New Fordley Junior Football Club, based in Annitsford, was awarded the funds through the Persimmon Homes Community Champions scheme, which supports up to 64 good causes every month.

Andrew Purvis, for the club, welcomed the donation and said: “As a progressive club we encourage 70 percent ball rolling time to develop players’ skills base. To achieve this every player requires a ball to train with. This season it will cost New Fordley Juniors in excess of £1,800 to procure footballs alone and so far we have raised £400 from teams. We are delighted to have been chosen as a Community Champion – every donation takes us a little bit closer to achieving our target.”

The Persimmon Homes Community Champions initiative seeks to support grassroots groups and charities in areas where the company is building. Persimmon Homes North East makes two donations of up to £1,000 every month to worthy causes. 

Chris Curry, managing director for Persimmon Homes North East, said: “We are committed to supporting the communities in which we build, and when we hear of clubs such as New Fordley Juniors putting so much back into supporting young people locally we thought the project was an excellent cause.”

For more information on Community Champions or to apply visit: www.persimmonhomes.com/community-champions.