Social Impact Programme – Case Study | Jane

Jane (not their real name) has been working with the Cashback programme for a couple of years; however, she has recently taken on some important steps in her life and highlighted the programme’s importance to her in making these decisions.

Jane is a talented footballer and has been training alongside a professional football team for several years now however during our group classes she had reported that she was not enjoying football at the moment. This started a series of one-to-one discussions in which she uncovered that she was not getting picked for games, was unlikely to make the next cut for the team, and this was negatively impacting her mood and well-being and causing her to not attend school. Having spoken with Jane about this she agreed that it would be a shame to give up on football especially after playing it for so many years.

She then took it upon herself to speak with the club and they have extended her contract until summer. Jane has now decided to try and gain her coaching qualifications for football and has started voluntary coaching with the club her younger brother plays for, and that same club has offered her a paid coaching position for once she completes her coaching badges. Jane has also offered to voluntarily help with a few basketball sessions run by the Cashback programme in the school and this could further help her develop experience for when she eventually leaves school. She has also since written to Celtic Football Club to ask for potential volunteer opportunities related to the field of coaching and sports.

It is exciting to see the impact our interventions can have on generating positive change in a young person’s potential career however she has also cited the importance of the emotional support she has received throughout the programme. Jane was keen to write a quick statement to show her appreciation for the support she has received:

“I learned lots of skills like working in a team and as an individual. I met new people and made friends with them. This, alongside the support from the Social Impact Officer, has helped me grow my confidence both in and out of the group.”

Jane had a difficult period at the end of last year in which she was being picked on by a former friend and even reported being threatened with physical violence both in and out of school. She reported this to the Social Impact Officer who provided her with support and directed her to the relevant people to speak to about the threats. Since then, she has reported that the threats have stopped and was grateful for the emotional support provided by the Social Impact Officer and the group’s support.