Captain Josh Vela and goalkeeper Jay Lynch were out in the local area on Thursday afternoon as they help the Community Trust celebrate a positive outcome from their DIVERT programme by surprising him with a brand-new bike.
The DIVERT programme was started so that the Trust could engage with young individuals who may have gotten into the wrong crowd or have found themselves in trouble in the past and offer them a place to go which would have mentoring and special events to keep them off the streets.
Oliver, who attends these meetings regularly, is a great example of how the programme can help people as he has taken part in every aspect of it, whether that be the one-to-one mentoring or the associated community activities. This has allowed him to make positive steps in his life and has changed his attitude so he can make better choices in the future.
The football and boxing sessions, provided by the Community Trust and its partners, are his favourites and as a reward for his excellent work on the programme, Town’s Trust provided Oliver with a new bike that he can use to get to the sessions.
This has given Oliver more freedom to attend more community activities such as boxing and football, he has used it to better his physical well-being by cycling more than using taxis and buses.
Ben Farley, Community Cohesion Coach from the Trust, said: “Oliver has engaged with DIVERT from the start of his journey and has achieved positive outcomes from the Mentoring we have done with him.
“He also continues to thrive in our community sports activities such as football and our boxing sessions and has enjoyed developing discipline and skills throughout. DIVERT is very proud of his achievement and will continue to support him on his journey.”
Not only was Oliver given a new bike, but he was provided tickets to attend future Fleetwood Town games as he wanted to come and cheer on the lads throughout the season – great work!