Black History Month: Danielle's Story
We’re ‘celebrating our sisters’ as part of Black History Month, speaking to black women and girls about their engagement with Saints Foundation.
Danielle works at Northam Community Centre, just a 10 minute walk from St Mary’s. Her job puts her at the heart of the SO14 community so naturally she’s enjoyed getting involved in Active Through Football, a programme run by Saints Foundation to improve health and wellbeing in local people.
She participates in Active Through Football’s Female Only session, which offers women from her local community a private, safe space to exercise together. “I find it ideal for the community,” Danielle told us. “Participants are known, it’s suitable for all ages, there’s no need to worry about whether you’re good enough to take part and [Saints Foundation’s instructors] adapt it to your needs.”
Being aware of diversity is incredibly important for Active Through Football; SO14 is one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse areas of the city. Danielle values how Saints Foundation takes the time to gather feedback and create bespoke sessions that are tailored to the specific make-up of her community. “Our community is so diverse so I think being diverse and making it [accessible] so people are able to attend is important. The women’s only classes are great as there aren’t many of these around.”
The theme of this year’s Black History Month is ‘Celebrating Our Sisters’, so we asked Danielle who she considers an inspirational female role model. “Sally White – I’ve watched her make a difference to so many people’s lives over the year including myself, as a young mum and young person and she has had a major impact on me. Sally has had a significant impact in this space and still is.”
We also asked Danielle to consider her own achievements. In her personal life, she considers raising her kids as her greatest success – “bringing up level headed respectful children in this generation” is far from easy. Her children have engaged with our open access Premier League Kicks sessions, which is how Danielle first came across Saints Foundation.
Professionally though, Danielle is most proud of the work she’s doing within her community. “Keeping up the community spirit flowing within the community… has been tough through covid and with the cost of living crisis, but we have stuck together and continued to support people.”
