Programmes in the Community

Over the past month Plymouth Argyle Heritage Archive has donated a large number of Argyle programmes that will benefit both adults and children around the city. In October the Archive donated over 2000 programmes that will be distributed to local schools and libraries by Plymouth City Council’s Community Connections team. Then in November the Archive delivered over 1500 programmes to the headquarters of Age UK Plymouth in Mount Gould.

The Archive has the ambition of collecting three copies of  the programme from every match that Plymouth Argyle has played, both home and away, but this has resulted in a large number of unwanted extras.

Trustee Bob Wright said: “We’ve been sorting through the programmes that people have passed to the Archive for a while and the excess just keeps increasing.

“As the storage space available to us is extremely limited, we have no option but to dispose of them, but the thought of sending them for paper recycling is a painful one!

“However, with one of our guiding principles in mind – to be of value to the wider community – it occurred to us that there might be another way, hence firstly passing them to the Plymouth’s schools and libraries and now donating some to Age UK in Plymouth. It’s very rewarding to think that these programmes will give children an insight into their local football club and help with their reading skills. By donating them to Age UK they will be of interest in the day centres for the elderly (especially Argyle fans who can no longer attend matches), provoke memories for people with dementia and be valuable material when organising projects on Plymouth Argyle”.

Louise Kelley, Sports Development Manager at Plymouth City Council, said: “Thanks to the Plymouth Argyle Heritage Archive our local schools and libraries will have a valuable insight into Plymouth Argyle’s playing history.”

Lynne Hodgson, Fundraising and Marketing Manager at Age UK said “Our sincere thanks go to the Argyle Archive for donating hundreds of old Argyle programmes to the Charity.  Many of our clients will remember players and matches from years gone by and the programmes will bring back memories, generate stories and conversations for older people to share. We are also planning some community events in 2020 where people will be able to come along and reminisce about all things football which will offer lonely or isolated people the opportunity to socially engage with others”.

For more information on the Argyle Archive, visit www.argylearchive.org.uk.

It can be contacted at contact@argylearchive.org.uk