Big Hearts Befrienders, a First for Scottish Football

Big Hearts Community Trust is delighted to be announcing the launch of a brand new befriending service for Kinship Care Young People. In what is a first for Scottish Football, the project will engage fans of Hearts Football Club as volunteer befrienders for a targeted group of local kinship care young people who face significant disadvantage and social isolation.

The pool of 15 volunteers will develop a 1:1 informal and social weekly relationship and become trusted role models for the young people. The project aims to deliver a key a set of outcomes for the young people involved including improving emotional health and becoming more active in the community.

The service will be open to kinship care young people from across Edinburgh.

The Big Hearts Befriending Service, will be run in partnership with The Broomhouse Centre, who have significant experience and expertise in providing befriending services for young people.

Since October 2015 Big Hearts has provided ongoing support to Kinship Care Families through their programme which includes a weekly after school club, school holiday activities and tickets for Kinship Families at Hearts’ home matches. A key part of the programme is also to raise awareness of Kinship Care.

Big Hearts Supporters can register their interest in joining the befriending team by clicking here.

For more details or further enquiries please email innes.shirreff@bighearts.org.uk.

Big Hearts General Manager, Caryn Kerr:

“This is a fantastic initiative, which we are delighted to be offering to Kinship Care Young People. The project is only possible because of the goodwill and passion of our Big Hearts Supporters. We already have lots of Hearts’ fans keen to become befrienders and we know, with the support of our project worker, that they will all do a brilliant job in helping these young people.”

“We’ve seen the difference our Kinship Care Programme has made to lots of families in the last year and this new strand of support will see us offer something which has the potential to make a considerable difference to the young people involved.”

Youth Befriending Project Manager, Amanda Farquhar:

“The Broomhouse Centre Youth Befriending Project is proud and delighted to expand their service within the city of Edinburgh; supporting children and young people within Kinship Care, working in partnership with Big Hearts Community Trust.”