Sky Blues lend a hand to Oxfam's efforts in supporting women around the world
Coventry City FC, Coventry City Ladies and Sky Blues in the Community have joined forces to celebrate International Women’s Day to help international organisation Oxfam support women around the world.
And, at next Tuesday’s game against Colchester, the club are hosting a half-time fundraiser for Oxfam. This will involve the regular L200 challenge, sponsored by Oak Tree Garages – where supporters normally try their luck at kicking a football into the back of a Mitsubishi truck.
Instead, Courtney Sweetman-Kirk, of the Coventry City Ladies team, will be giving the challenge a go and if she manages to get the ball to stay in, the club will donate to Oxfam.
The Sky Blues are one of many across the UK joining the Oxfam Get Together, a campaign running throughout March to raise awareness of, and lifesaving funds for, Oxfam’s women’s projects around the world in conjunction with International Women’s Day.
The campaign is supported by Coventry City Ladies’ player Sami Ryder.
She said: “It's important to get young girls into sport from an early age – showing that it is not a male-dominated area and shouldn't let girls think you have to be a tomboy to participate.
“It helps you keep fit, active and live a healthier lifestyle. It also helps to improve your social skills, interacting with others, and gives you a good understanding of how to work in a team for later life.
“International Women’s Day and Oxfam’s Get Together campaign is a chance to raise awareness of the living conditions of women around the world and help to raise money to get them out of poverty.
“Also, it shows how, given the opportunities, women can succeed in sport or whatever area they choose, and grow in confidence.”
More women than ever before are attending football matches; women’s football is increasingly more high-profile and women are finally getting into top executive positions within boardrooms at clubs. But more can and needs to be done to ensure that men and women are equal - and not only on the pitch.
Over 70 per cent of the 1.3 billion people living in extreme poverty are women. Globally, women tend to have fewer resources, less access to education and subsequently fewer opportunities to make life-shaping decisions than men.
Jenna Wills, Oxfam community fundraiser, said: “The work of Oxfam is usually associated with responding to natural disasters and emergencies. But when emergencies strike, it is women who are often the most badly affected. This is why Oxfam is now focusing its efforts on working with women around the world in the fight against poverty.”
Oxfam’s projects with women range from the support offered at a drop-in centre in Glasgow to providing female farmers with business skills training in Ethiopia. All funds raised through the Get Together for International Women’s Day initiative will make a real and lasting difference.
- Every minute a woman with no medical care dies in pregnancy or childbirth, but £31 raised could enable Oxfam to train a midwife in Ghana, saving the lives of babies and their mothers.
- Two-thirds of all children denied school are girls, but £135 could train five teachers in Mali, providing a whole generation of children with the skills they need to work their way out of poverty.
Coventry City FC has joined other clubs around the country to celebrate International Women’s Day with Oxfam. Clubs are encouraging their fans to join the Oxfam Get Together campaign and organise events and fundraisers for Oxfam women’s projects around the world.
Stacie McDermott, marketing manager for Coventry City Football Club, said: “We are calling all CCFC fans to help transform lives worldwide and Get Together to ensure the future for girls is bright, equal, safe and rewarding and to truly celebrate women and real equality.”
Events are being held throughout the whole of March and you can register until March 22 to host your own event. For hints and tips on hosting a Get Together and to find out more about the campaign see: https://www.oxfam.org.uk/get-together