Charlton Athletic Community Trust (CACT) recently hosted the Extra Time Hub’s Christmas Party at The Valley for more than 100 of the programme’s participants.
The Extra Time Hub is a social club for over-55s that meets weekly, bringing together retired and semi-retired people to support active ageing. This year’s Christmas Party for participants, supported by members of Charlton’s U18s squad, a live band and staff from CACT partners Martin Arnold and FFT, was filled with festivities, fun and games.
Participants and academy players were up on their feet dancing to their favourite music, with forward Raynon Richman even showing off his drumming skills. Others got stuck into competitive games of bowls, table tennis and darts, as well as word searches, bingo and a festive raffle.
Later in the day, the Addicks’ U18s squad, joined by Charlton Managing Director James Rodwell, also lent a hand in serving Christmas dinner to participants, adding to the festive spirit on the day.
Dean Jarman, Head of Academy Player Care, said: “We talk about developing the human as well as the player, which the Academy always has done and always will do. I think this experience gave our young players the chance to understand that there's more to playing football. We want to try to develop players off the pitch too, and this is part of that. At the Academy, we want to expose the boys to the community as much as we can, because we know CACT play a massive role in what we do.”
Linda Gray and Matt Phillips, members of CACT’s Health Improvement team who organise the Extra Time Hub, added: “The academy players get so involved in this event every year, it’s brilliant. Our participants really appreciate them coming along. It can be a hard time of year for people who’ve lost a partner, so coming here, talking and having a network of people to be with is very important.”
Take a look at some of the best photos from the day below
