Last week saw the Chelsea Foundation once again support Mental Health Awareness Week, with a packed timetable of activities, toolkits and educational tips for participants and parents.

The focus was on the five ways to wellbeing (Keep Learning, Take Notice, Give, Be Active and Connect) and this was further supported by Chelsea Women players, with tips on how to keep a healthy mind share via our Foundation Twitter account.

The Foundation also launched a brand-new initiative with Hammersmith, Fulham, Ealing, and Hounslow Mind. The new scheme will see MIND practitioners support the Chelsea Champions extra-curricular provision at Fulham Boys School once a week.

The sessions will involve physical activity alongside workshops focusing on nutrition and mental health, sports, and stress, staying motivated, exercise and mood regulation as well as positive interactions and teamwork.

This week also saw the long-awaited return of our Walking Football programme which supports men and women over the age of 50. The groups are proven to enhance physical, emotional, and social wellbeing and it is great to have the sessions back face-to-face after doing more than 100 virtual sessions.

Our Education and Health & Wellbeing Teams have been supporting young people of all ages to think of ways to improve their mental wellbeing. Staff working on our Scoring for Health programme have delivered yoga sessions in the playground and wellbeing support in the classroom.

Our Further Education Team have been encouraging students at Fulham Cross Academy to increase their physical activity outside of school by teaching them the fundamentals of leading healthier and more active lives, while our Schools Education Team have continued to deliver ‘Extra-Time’ and ‘Check-in with Chelsea’ resources focused on the five ways to wellbeing to more than 20 classes.

Additionally, the Foundation has also been supporting Joe Cole’s 11 Foundation to help break the stigma around mental illness. Alongside a football coaching session delivered by Foundation staff, young people from Future Youth Zone in Barking and Dagenham engaged in a discussion with former Chelsea midfielder Cole about the pressures of being a teenager and the impact it can have on their mental wellbeing.

Founder of 11 Foundation, Cole said: ‘The aim of this 11 Foundation collaboration with Chelsea Foundation and the Future Youth Zone is to help break stigmas around mental illness and give young people a chance to talk about the pressures affecting them and the impact it has on their mental wellbeing.

‘Carly [Cole's wife] and I are delighted Chelsea Foundation are making this a priority when the club have both the men’s and women’s teams preparing for major finals.

‘It’s a reminder that the football community is a powerful tool in providing practical support and hope to help young people who need somewhere to go, someone to talk to and something or someone to raise their aspirations.’

Phil Hastings, Chelsea Foundation head of region South East added: ‘We are extremely proud of how our programmes continue to engage our participants, supporters and communities on important topics such as on mental health.

‘It is important to everyone at the Foundation that this is not just about one week of action, we will continue to reduce the stigma on the subject and promote the importance of positive physical and emotional wellbeing activities throughout all of the work we do.’

You can download our Chelsea Champions Mental Health Toolkit and ‘Extra-Time’ Resources below.

Mental Health Toolkit

Extra Time Resources

For more information on our programme, please contact [email protected]