Who We Are

We are the official charity of Sunderland AFC.

Established in 2001 by former Sunderland AFC chairman Sir Bob Murray CBE, our mission is simple: to use the power of football to invest in the communities we serve and to improve the education, health, wellbeing and happiness of people, no matter who they are.

Situated in the North East of England, we are based at the Beacon of Light in Sunderland and have outreach centres across the city, South Tyneside and County Durham.

Our vision is to create better opportunities and better lives for our communities.

We use our position as an unparalleled route into traditionally 'hard to reach' communities, working across four programme areas - sport and play, world of work, education and health and wellbeing.

Strategic Plan

Using our high performance and innovative culture, we work across communities in Sunderland, South Tyneside and County Durham to:

Raise educational attainment; inspiring a love and commitment to lifelong learning.

Increase skills and access to employment opportunities by connecting people to the world of work.

Support individuals and families to live healthier and happier lives, enabling more vibrant and respectful communities.

Provide more opportunities for inclusive sport and play, inspiring participation and achievement.

We are financially independent of Sunderland AFC, raising over £4million each year through donations, grants, contracts and trading activities.

We collaborate with partners such as local authorities, higher education and housing associations, taking a lead role in delivering projects to benefit our communities and tackle some of society's biggest challenges.

Find out more about our programmes

Do you want to learn more about what we do and how we are supporting our communities to live happier and healthier lives?

We have over 40 different programmes and courses to choose from, supporting children and adults from all backgrounds and abilities.

Find out more

Our Key Supporters

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