January 2012

Aston Villa and Ireland defender becomes Trust Ambassador

The Prince's Trust long standing relationship with Aston Villa FC has been boosted by Ciaran Clark becoming a football ambassador.

The Republic of Ireland international was on hand at a Prince's Trust awards night at Villa Park to hear some of the inspiring stories of young people involved in one of the charity's projects.

Clark met students from the Team 68 community project which is run in conjunction with Birmingham Metropolitan College and helps young adults develop the team-building and communication skills that will enable them to seek employment or higher education.

You can watch the video of the event on Aston Villa's website here.

As part of their 12-week personal development programme, the students have been working at Grove Vale Primary School in Great Barr, creating a mural which can be used for educational purposes.

Tracy Boxley from the Trust said,

The fact we can have someone in a position such as Ciaran's shows young people there is a career path for them within the world and The Prince’s Trust. Aston Villa have been supporting us for 10 years now with match tickets, stadium tours and community venues.

Ciaran added:

I feel very privileged to be part of this and it is very good to see these young people come in and tell their stories, explain what they have been doing and how they are getting on. To hear their stories is fantastic and I hope to hear many more. To see the smile on their faces and that they are enjoying what they are doing is fantastic.

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