INVERKEITHING Hillfield Swifts have secured funding of £78,211 to enable them to run an after school service.
The football club, which has a base at Dalgety Bay and a sizeable youth section for boys and girls as well as senior sides, got the money for the Extra Time programme.
It's a project which takes kids whose parents are still finding their feet in a new job and lets them play football until they are ready to be picked up.
Already in place at several clubs around the country, the initiative is almost ready to go at Inverkeithing, with chairman Craig Reid looking forward to getting it started.
He said: “We got some funding to allow us to run an Extra Time programme in the community.
“In essence, this is a programme that we take kids from specific areas or disadvantaged areas where their parents need some time to get back to work.
“We run a programme that, post school from around 3pm to 6pm, the kids will be kept entertained, they can do their homework or play some football.
“This allows the parents to continue to work a little bit longer.”
The grant has come from the Scottish Government, who have pledged £4 million worth of funding for the project.
This is part of their commitment to eradicating child poverty, with many clubs across the country running an Extra Time programme to great success.
Swifts are just one of around 30 clubs in receipt of funding and Craig says this will be put to use by supporting paid staff members to oversee the project.
He added: “We’ll use this to have paid people to deliver the role and we’ll also provide the kids with some food at that Extra Time session.
“That’s what our funding will go towards. Ours hasn’t started just yet, we’re in a sort of trial period until October and then it will continue thereafter.
“If it’s successful, we’ll hopefully do more going forward.”
The funding was announced by First Minister John Swinney.
He said: “We know funding from the Extra Time programme is enabling football clubs and trusts to provide really valuable childcare options, particularly for families from low income households who are most at risk of living in poverty.
“The Extra Time programme is a reminder that local football clubs are supporting communities here at home – providing valuable services beyond matchday.
“We are delighted to announce this additional funding in conjunction with the Scottish Government to extend the Extra Time programme.”
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