Five Football Charities Launch £850,000 Scottish Government-Backed Partnership To Tackle Child Poverty

Five football community charities have launched Centre Circle, a new £850,000 Scottish Government-backed Whole Family Support programme designed to help families access practical, financial and wellbeing support earlier and more easily. Falkirk Football Community Foundation is joining Aberdeen FC Community Trust, Morton in the Community, The Killie Community and Big Hearts Community Trust to deliver the programme. Together, the partnership will support around 500 families across Edinburgh, Falkirk, Aberdeen, Inverclyde and East Ayrshire. The programme will allow families to reach support through organisations they already know and trust within their communities. Derek Allison, chief executive of Falkirk Football Community Foundation, said the partnership reflected what could be achieved when community organisations came together around a shared purpose. He said it gave the Foundation the opportunity to strengthen support available to local families, reach people earlier, and work more closely with trusted partners so people could get the right help when they needed it. Allison added that the partnership brought together five organisations rooted in their own communities, working together to create impact locally while potentially helping to shape the wider approach to Whole Family Support across Scotland.