Will Vaulks wins EFL Community of the Year award for crucial charity work
Sheffield Wednesday footballer, Will Vaulks, won the English Football League Community Player of the Year award last night for his work for the Bluebell Wood Children's Hospice and Baton of Hope, a suicide prevention service.
The EFL awards celebrate and recognise the continued efforts and achievements of Championship, League One and League Two clubs, players and individuals.
Speaking after collecting the award, 30-year-old Mr Vaulks said: “It’s really important we raise awareness for off the pitch matters, it’s nice to be recognised and win an award for the things that mean a lot to me.
“What we do off the pitch is so important, as footballers we have a platform to give back, and I’m really grateful I can do that.”
Sheffield Wednesday expressed their congratulations and pride for their midfielders' achievement.
This is the third time that Mr Vaulks has won the award for the Championship division, but the first time he has won the overall title.
Mr Vaulks was a crucial part of the Baton of Hope relay race which took place last summer and saw bereaved family members carrying the silver baton from Glasgow to London.
He became involved in the charity after both his grandfathers took their own lives.
Bluebell Wood Children's Hospice is based in Sheffield and has helped families in the area who wanted an alternative to hospital care for more than 15 years.
Mr Vaulks re-pledged his support to the hospice when he signed for Sheffield Wednesday, he said: "It is the most worthy cause you can imagine."
The awards took place at Grosvenor House in London and also saw awards for best manager, best club and community project of the season, as well as many others.
Steve Coogan blasts water company ‘greenwashing’ over Lake Windermere pollution
Laura Harding, PA Media
Steve Coogan has accused United Utilities of “greenwashing” and “PR spin” as he criticised the company for putting sewage into Lake Windermere.
The I’m Alan Partridge star joined a protest outside the North West water company’s offices near the lake as he called on the Government to compel them to clean up England’s largest lake rather than pay huge dividends to shareholders.
He told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “United Utilities have a big PR machine and they put nice fancy offices up like this and say we’re working together with the people of Windermere but it’s all a smokescreen to distract attention from what they’ve been doing over the last 30 years, which is putting treated and untreated sewage into Lake Windermere.
“It’s to such an extent that there are toxic levels of algae, there are algae blooms that show the nitrate levels are like through the roof. And they’ve been doing this year on year.”
He added: “They have been paying out record dividends to shareholders, there’s no excuse for this. We’re telling them to stop putting sewage in the lake and take out what they put in.”
Sheffield man hopes to create a “community of sharing” to open up conversations about mental health
A Sheffield man has been inspired to create his own mental health charity after losing his close friend to suicide, Amy Britton reports.
After struggling throughout lockdown with his own mental health and dealing with the loss of his friend, Jake Cook, Jojo Quattrocchi decided to quit his job and dedicate all of his time to helping others.
Mr Quattrocchi realised that many of his friends did not know about the help available in the local area. He said: “That really stood out to me and showed me that there is a really big problem in this area. The suicide rates in the UK are quite staggering.”
During a trip to Brazil while dealing with his own recovery, Mr Quattrocchi came across a yellow flower that changed his perspective on the world. Inspired by this moment, he decided to name his charity Amarelo.
He said: “It became such a huge moment of hope and I had it in my mind for a while that I could use my experience and suffering to try and help other people.”
Mr Quattrocchi plans to launch Amarelo in May during National Mental Health Week.
A new female film club in Sheffield is tackling loneliness one movie at a time
A new club in Sheffield is helping to tackle loneliness by hosting events for women to watch films together and meet new people, reports Tabitha Wilson.
The group, Film Girls Galore, have already gone to see Lady of a Portrait on Fire and Dune: Part 2 at Showroom Cinema in Sheffield.
Their next screening will be on 28 April.
Tasha Jagger, who started the group, described the club as a “safe space for all of us to still have our alone time but also be able to talk about these films with others.”
‘Game-changing’ funding granted to Sheffield Eagles Foundation
Funding from the National Lottery Community Fund has been granted to the Sheffield Eagles Foundation to provide SEND-inclusive youth engagement in rugby league, Alycia McNamara reports.
Jack Pemberton, 26, Inclusion Officer at The Eagles Foundation, said: “The funding will be an absolute game changer for The Eagles Foundation and our youth engagement provision.
“We’ll be able to meet the needs of the community, work more closely with local partners and schools, and provide more activity and opportunity for disabled and non-disabled young people.
“We can now provide regular, free, inclusive rugby league, wheelchair rugby league, and multisport sessions in the area each week, as well as increasing our half term and school holiday provision.”
The Eagles will be opening their doors on matchdays for the Sheffield Eagles Men’s, Women’s and Wheelchair teams and allowing young people to watch professional rugby for free.
Hillsborough memorial plans set to be discussed by Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest will discuss building a Hillsborough disaster memorial at the City Ground after calls from supporters, Huzaifah Khan reports.
Nottingham Forest chairman, Tom Cartledge, spoke about the prospect of a memorial 35 years on from the crush that resulted in the death of 97 fans at an FA Cup game between Nottingham Forest and Liverpool.
Cartledge said: “I’m aware that there are memorials at Anfield and Hillsborough and it is one of those that we should reflect on, and if people want to make that idea to me they should do.
“I’d be delighted to sit down with those individuals and understand what that should mean and what could look like”.
Sunak braced for fresh wrangling over Rwanda Bill as Parliament returns
Nina Lloyd, Flora Thompson and Ian Jones, PA Media
Rishi Sunak is braced for a fresh round of parliamentary wrangling over his Bill to save the Government’s stalled Rwanda deportation scheme, as MPs and peers head back to Westminster this week.
The Commons returns from Easter recess on Monday with the legislation high on the agenda after a minister insisted flights carrying asylum seekers to Kigali should be taking off “within weeks”.
It comes as Sunday became the busiest day yet for Channel crossings so far this year after more than 500 migrants arrived in the UK in a single day.
It means some 6,000 people have made the journey in 2024 to date, with more than 75,000 arrivals recorded two years on from the Rwanda deal being signed.
The Government will seek to strip out changes made by peers who want extra legal safeguards, including a provision to ensure “due regard” for domestic and international law.
Health Secretary Victoria Atkins suggested on Sunday the Home Office is “ready to go” in implementing the plan when the Bill gets on to the statute books.
The Home Office said 534 migrants were recorded crossing the Channel on Sunday in 10 boats. This is the highest daily total on record since the start of the year and suggests there was an average of around 53 people on each boat.
The policy is expected to be put to a free vote when it comes to the Commons for a debate on Tuesday.
Sheffield man hopes to create a “community of sharing” to open up conversations about mental health
A Sheffield man has been inspired to create his own mental health charity after losing his close friend to suicide.
After struggling throughout lockdown with his own mental health and dealing with the loss of his friend, Jake Cook, Jojo Quattrocchi decided to quit his job and dedicate all of his time to helping others.
Mr Quattrocchi realised that many of his friends did not know about the help available in the local area. He said: “That really stood out to me and showed me that there is a really big problem in this area. The suicide rates in the UK are quite staggering.”
During a trip to Brazil while dealing with his own recovery, Mr Quattrocchi came across a yellow flower that changed his perspective on the world. Inspired by this moment, he decided to name his charity Amarelo.
He said: “It became such a huge moment of hope and I had it in my mind for a while that I could use my experience and suffering to try and help other people.”
With the NHS’ mental health services at breaking point, many Sheffield locals are turning to alternative kinds of therapy to help their anxiety and depression.
The charity plans to make people aware of alternative methods of coping with mental health aside from talking therapies. Yoga, meditation, and running clubs are all techniques that can easily be added to someone’s routine to improve their daily life.
Mr Quattrocchi added: “People don’t know this stuff exists. I didn’t know it existed until I did the research.
“I want to direct people through my website into those spaces that would really help them.”
The Amarelo charity hopes to encourage people to reach out for help by highlighting the scientific research behind alternative therapies, which tend to be stigmatised.
The charity also plans to share people’s personal stories to encourage others to speak openly about mental health. He said: “I want to create a community of sharing.
I want to create a community of solidarity to help each other to get better.When we come together, it can be so powerful.”
Mr Quattrocchi plans to launch Amarelo in May during National Mental Health Week.
Sheffield man fundraising £40k for victims of human trafficking
A Sheffield YMCA worker is aiming to raise £40,000 for human trafficking victims before his 40th birthday by running four half marathons in a month, reports Marti Stelling.
Jonathan Buckley 39, will be fundraising for Sheffield modern slavery support charity The Snowdrop Project.
Jonathan has raised £2,000 of his £40,000 target so far.
He completed the Sheffield Half Marathon on 7 April and the Rugeley Half Marathon on 14 April. Coming up, he will also run in the Roche Abbey Half Marathon and East Yorkshire (Hull) Half Marathon.
Hillsborough memorial plans set to be discussed by Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest will discuss building a Hillsborough disaster memorial at the City Ground after calls from supporters.
Chairman, Tom Cartledge, spoke about the prospect of a memorial 35 years on from the crush that resulted in the death of 97 fans at an FA Cup game between Nottingham Forest and Liverpool.
Cartledge said: "I'm aware that there are memorials at Anfield and Hillsborough and it is one of those that we should reflect on, and if people want to make that idea to me they should do.
"I'd be delighted to sit down with those individuals and understand what that should mean and what could look like".
The Forest chairman says that he is yet to be approached by supporters about their calls for a memorial but would look to involve the club's fan advisory board when looking into a potential tribute.
All 97 fans that died as a result of the disaster in 1989 were supporting Liverpool but 28,000 Forest fans in attendance witnessed the tragedy.
In 2016, an independent inquiry found that all those who died were unlawfully killed.
Brian Laws, who played in the game for Forest, backs calls for the club to dedicate their own tribute to the disaster.
Laws said: "Whilst you don't want to commemorate something as awful as that, it's that support and feeling that we are united. We are all in it together, we were all there together and we all feel the same issue together."
Cameron urges invitees to attend Downing Street Eid event amid boycott reports
Sophie Wingate, PA Media
Lord David Cameron urged invitees to attend a Downing Street Eid reception and “put aside political differences” amid reports some are planning to boycott the event in protest against the Government’s support of Israel.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is set to host Muslim figures for the annual celebration on Monday.
But the BBC reported that some Conservative politicians and business and charity leaders are shunning the reception because of their opposition to Israel’s offensive in Gaza.
Asked about the reported boycott, Lord Cameron told Times Radio on Monday: “I had an Eid celebration at the Foreign Office a few days ago and I think ambassadors from every Arab country turned up to that celebration, as did the ambassador from Israel.
“So I think all these religious festivals are a time to put aside political differences and think of the things that bring us together.
“And one of the things that brings us together in Britain is that we’re a country with an established church, but also a country that respects other faiths and respects other celebrations, and I think that’s the right thing to do."
Darnall stabbing: Second person charged with attempted murder to appear in Court today
A second person has been charged with attempted murder at Sheffield Magistrates' Court for the attack of a 21-year-old man in Darnall.
Adil Mohammed, 24, is held in custody and is set to appear before Sheffield Magistrates’ Court today.
Mr Mohammed is being charged with attempted murder in relation to a stabbing in Staniforth Road on Tuesday evening, according to South Yorkshire Police.