Crawley Capers (Crawley Town FC Community Sports Foundation )

Crawley Capers is a partnership between Crawley Town FC Community Sports Foundation and Autism Sussex that provides young people on the autism spectrum with an opportunity to participate in football activity at the Checkatrade.com Stadium. Alongside football, children participate in arts and crafts activities in the Stadium Pod overlooking the pitch. The two-hour sessions encourage participation from autistic children and family members to help develop social skills and positive play within a family group. These “Caper” sessions have seen children with autism blossom alongside their peers and it has also helped behaviour, community integration and learning/listening skills.

Birtug Kazim, manager of the Community Foundation commented “I’m delighted that Capers  has been chosen as one of the final 6 in the Peoples Millions. This is an achievement for the group, we can hope for a sustainable Capers session for autistic children for years to come  We are passionate about supporting and nurturing youngsters involved in the club, especially those with autism. The work and effort with Autism Sussex and  given to these young people and families has delivered an initiative that can have  a long lasting impact. I really do hope the people of Crawley & Sussex get behind us and vote.”
The Community Foundation is the charitable arm of Crawley Town FC, running a range of programmes in themes such as health, sports participation, inclusion, education, training and employment, community safety and regeneration. for people living in and around Crawley.

Catherine Fitzgerald, project Manager for Autism Sussex, said: “I am delighted with the good work the Foundation have been doing with us. The impact is clearly visible and parents too have noticed the positive impact on their children. Autism is a very challenging condition and we hope being part of the Peoples Millions will help raise its awareness across Sussex. Please do vote for us!”