Below, Jason, who was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University Of Greenwich in 2017, sets out what he thinks has made CACT so successful over the past 25 years.
CACT empowers communities and changes lives by improving health, education and employment and reducing crime. Our work is more important than ever during this challenging time.
Established in 1992, the trust now employs over 100 permanent members of staff working across 67 programmes engaging just under 50,000 people and is regarded as one of the biggest football related community trusts in the country. Over the years, CACT has delivered a wide range of community led projects in the South East of England and ground-breaking work in some of the poorest townships in South Africa over a 10-year period. In 2012, CACT became the first community football trust to deliver a council's Youth Service provision.
The trust runs programmes across seven different strands:
- Early Help and Prevention
- Education
- Equality, Diversity & Inclusion
- Football and Sports Development
- Health Improvement
- Social Action and Enterprise
- Youth Service
By concentrating our output in these key seven strands, we have been able to deliver services that truly impact the local community in a positive way and offer bespoke solutions to issues faced by them and us. We recently announced the findings of a research project into the impact of the charity's work across communities in South East London and Kent. The key finding of the report concluded that every £1 spent by CACT produces £6.89 of social value. The study showcased how community-led projects can achieve social change against a variety of outcomes and improve the lives of the people within the community.
I am extremely proud of the success and progress CACT has made over many years. I am also extremely aware that our excellent and dedicated staff are committed to achieving the high standards we all set ourselves and it is my pleasure to see them achieve that day after day, resulting in such a positive impact on so many people's lives.
