East Hull under 14s players have taken to the city’s streets to hand out food and drinks to those sleeping rough
The team manager of an youth rugby squad has told of his pride in the players who have volunteered to help those less fortunate this Christmas. Scores of lads from East Hull under 14s have turned out to offer support to people on the streets of Hull.
The club is staging a nightly walkabout of the city centre, offering food and hot drinks to rough sleepers. The ’12 nights of kindness’ idea has seen groups of the young players take to the streets with the support of parents and coaches and has earned thanks from Humberside Police as well as Hull Street Angels.
Keiran Johnson, the team manager, said: “We started it six nights ago now. I went the first night and there were four lads and ever since then we’ve had no less than four turn up – sometimes five – and a couple of them have done double shifts already. They’re volunteering really well.”
Armed with hot chocolates, bovril, pot noodles and flapjacks, the players are stopping by people to offer support. The experience has been as eye opening for the lads as it has been the coaches and parents.
Keiran explained: “They’ve been listening to people’s stories. Some of them have been in prison and haven’t got any family, so they’ve ended up on the street or they’ve ended up reoffending to get back inside for a warm bed and three meals.
“Many are really thankful. One young lad from the team, Spencer, was talking to a man who had his sleeping bag pinched. So he’d gone home to get a quilt and had gone back into town to give it to the man.
“The way they’ve all come together has been great. I thought we might struggle but they’ve all been more than willing to do it.”
About 14 of the team of 22 have been out so far. And they plan to be out every night until New Year’s Day in a bid to spread some hope and to give the lads more character building experiences, which are an important feature of the team.
Keiran explained: “The rugby is really only a small part of it. Everyone is a volunteer in the team. We’ve got me, Craig, who is the head coach, the first aiders and people who organise the fundraisers and the kit washing and all that.
“There’s a lot of time that has gone into the lads, and we get thanks – but we do it for the lads. This is about them giving up a bit of their time.”
East Hull under 14s are planning a Christmas training sessions with their older counterparts on December 27 before they pick back up on January 3 for pre-season training.