George Street Social FC do the 3 Peaks Challenge

For the second year running George Street Social FC will be taking part in our annual 3 Peaks Challenge. We will be travelling up to Scotland on the Friday evening and staying overnight ready to take on Ben Nevis in the early hours of Saturday 18th June 2022, We will then be travelling down to North West England where we will complete Scafell Pike. Finally we will venture into Wales to complete Snowdon. We hope to do all this within that weekend and return on the Sunday evening victorious. Last season this was one of many peoples personal highlights away from the football pitch and it was such a good trip for team building. Not only that with the money you all donated we have been able to fund the running of the club for another season , arguably our most successful yet. For that we are eternally grateful! Last year including cash donations we raised just short of £2500 which we aim to better this year. Money last year helped us travel down to Liverpool on multiple occasions and take part in an Inclusion league, run our Christmas Party and awards night and helped fund our training facilities throughout the winter.

For those who are new to our story here is what we are about...

We are George Street Social FC, a football team set up to provide a safe space for those in recovery with addiction and mental health issues to play the beautiful game, where they might have otherwise felt socially excluded. We are the only football team like this in the Newcastle/Gateshead area. We are a team made up from those with multiple years recovery, to the relative newcomer, to those who just want to improve their mental health and get a sense of belonging through the fellowship of team sports.

Most football teams come with high levels of expectation and pressures, as well as a heavy drinking culture. For those in recovery this is a high risk environment and often prevents people with poor mental health and addiction issues from participating. With an all inclusive attitude, embracing the spiritual principles of recovery which are core values to the foundation of the club, we look to lift each other up instead of pulling each other apart. The core of our football team are made up from people with previous experience within recovery football teams, where ultimately the message of recovery was lost and winning at all costs became the priority. This left a sour taste in the mouths of those involved. George Street Social FC are trying to learn from the mistakes of old and ensure this does not happen moving forward, creating a safe haven for those players and many others, hopefully for years to come.

The club was set up in 2020 with a long term vision to make recovery visible through football and provide valuable support network for those in recovery, while reaching out to the still suffering. Due to kind charitable donations, we were able to set up our adult team and even managed to make it to a cup final in our first season. This season we are expanding to a second adult team and we hope this is just the start of our expansion. Eventually we would like to have a club complete with all age ranges, with the dream of getting everyone enjoying the beautiful game while remembering our core values of honesty, open mindedness and willingness, as we look to nurture a positive mindset of all those involved. Respect is paramount to everything we do and our values must always come first. No one individual is bigger than the club!

On June 18th 2022, we will embark on an endurance challenge that will see us climbing the 3 highest peaks of the United Kingdom. We will be climbing; Ben Nevis, Mount Snowdon and Scafell Pike, a combined altitude of 10,052 ft and distance of 23 miles within a 24/36 hour window. We will be doing this as a team with the aim of making recovery visible, showing that recovery is possible and that together, WE DO RECOVER!

All donations received will go towards reaching our target as a football club for the upcoming season and reaching the wider recovery communities in the North East of England.

Thank you for taking the time to read our story, any donations will be gratefully received and if you could share with your friends that would be greatly appreciated.

George Street Social FC players, officials and friends.