Christmas Week of Giving | Supporters' Trust provide Christmas treat for Cwtch Coffee Morning participants
Swansea City Supporters’ Trust helped bring Christmas to the Swansea City AFC Foundation’s Cwtch Coffee Morning as club greats Lee Trundle, Angel Rangel, Vic Gomersall, Wyndham Evans and Alan Curtis joined the Week of Giving festivities.
The Cwtch Coffee Morning makes up part of the Foundation’s health and wellbeing provision with a weekly catch-up hosted at the stadium. The club’s home shirt partner Reviva Coffee provide hot drinks, while the Foundation provide a warm space and a friendly, welcoming atmosphere for those in the local community who are most at risk of becoming isolated.
While the coffee mornings take place every week, a visit from former players to host a quiz and have a chat is a rare treat, while the Supporters' Trust also provided mince pies, Christmas crackers, treats and a breakfast roll for those in attendance.
Stan Steadman, a regular at the coffee mornings, said: “My wife, Cathy, and I had lived in England for more than 50 years but we moved back to Swansea earlier this year.
“We were looking for ways to join in with the community and the first place we came when we arrived was to the coffee mornings..
“It’s fantastic, it’s transformed our lives, helped us settle back in to Swansea and, as a result of coming to Cwtch, we’ve been put in touch with Ageing Well and we’ve got so many things to do.
“I can remember the floodlights being opened at The Vetch when we played Hibernian that’s how long I’ve been supporting the Swans, so it’s been wonderful meeting the players – particularly Wyndham Evans and Vic Gomersall.
"Wyndham has always been a favourite for me and I’ve met him this morning … what a privilege!”
The Swans Week of Giving campaign has seen the club, its partners and players come together for a range of visits and gift giving across the community, and the Supporters' Trust were delighted to be part of the festivities by funding the Cwtch Coffee Morning Christmas treat.
“In recent years the Trust has been focusing on the importance of engaging with the community and bringing more people in, particularly fans who can’t always get to games,” explained Paul Meller, the Trust's supporter director.
“This kind of event gives people the opportunity to gather together and have a chat and allows everyone to be part of the club.
“It’s wonderful to see the turn out and the engagement with the former players.
“It’s so important at this time of year to give back, particularly with the cost-of-living crisis and following Covid, people can be far more isolated than they used to be and the football club is so important as it brings people together and they have a common bond.
“We’re so pleased to have been able to play our part in putting this event on.”
While Trundle and Curtis have been to Cwtch Coffee Mornings before, it was a first visit for Gomersall, Evans and Rangel. Evans, Gomersall and Curtis each joined a quiz team while Trundle and Rangel were the quiz masters.
“It was brilliant to be here, see lots of faces and have breakfast with everyone,” Rangel said.
“We really enjoyed it. I played here for many years and it’s always been a family club. So to see the club giving time to fans once a week is brilliant. To be able to do something special for Christmas and see what that means to everyone – I think that’s fantastic.
“The least we can do as players and former players is to give back to the people who have supported us, and do support us, week after week.”
Foundation health and wellbeing officer, Rhys Davies, concluded: “People can be lonely around Christmas time, so to be able to offer this kind of environment has been amazing.
“It was great to have the former players with us, there was a brilliant atmosphere. Everyone was telling their stories so it was lovely having them there.
“I’ve seen countless people benefit from this project and if anyone is interested, the doors are always open.”
