Saints Rainbow Shirts to fund LGBTQ+ support sessions
Saints Foundation are delivering new LGBTQ+ support sessions using funds raised by auctioning match-worn hummel rainbow shirts.
A youth group will meet once a week at Chamberlayne College for the Arts to give pupils a safe space to talk about LGBTQ+ issues. Sessions will be led by Saints Foundation’s Community Champions, who are based full-time in local secondary schools to provide extra-curricular support.
Everyone is welcome, with delivery aimed at students who identify as LGBTQ+, have family or friends who do, or have expressed interest in being an ally and wanting to support.
The direction of these sessions will be decided by a youth voice session later in December, ahead of delivery beginning in January 2022.
In addition to this, Saints Foundation will deliver workshops to Year 7 pupils in our other Community Champion secondary schools, on the theme of how to become a better ally to LGBTQ+ communities.
These initiatives has been funded by auctioning hummel’s special edition rainbow shirts, which was worn by the Southampton FC First Team in their warm-up for the first Premier League fixture of the season, played against Everton at Goodison Park. Everton in the Community will be delivering similar workshops in Liverpool in the new year, and the two charities have arranged for their youth groups to meet and discuss LGBTQ+ issues when Saints play Everton at St Mary’s in February.
Today’s game is a special activation match to support Stonewall’s Rainbow Laces campaign, which celebrates and promotes LGBTQ+ inclusion in the Premier League.
This year’s Rainbow Laces campaign is encouraging people to ‘Lace Up and Speak Up’, emphasising the importance of holding open conversations in support of LGBTQ+ communities. Saints Foundation’s Community Champions are wearing rainbow laces in schools for the duration of the campaign to encourage this discussion.
