There is only place to start today and that is with the news of, former community lead and committee member, Mishi being taken ill last week. The support and best wishes, especially via social media, have been flooding in from Hamlet fans and the wider non-league family.

Mishi has been a massive part of this club over the years and real pillar of the community. Most of our fantastic community work has come from his ingenious ideas. I would like to take this opportunity, on behalf of everyone connected to the club, to wish Mishi a speedy recovery and we hope to welcome him back to Champion Hill in the near future.

Today we have Eli attending as a special guest. Eli and his dad were amongst the unlucky few who had to be turned away from Champion Hill for our home against Slough Town in December. On a day when we celebrated a modern day record attendance at Champion Hill, Eli was left disappointed at the thought of missing out on seeing The Hamlet play. I’m pleased to say that Eli is in attendance today and will be leading the teams out. Not only that, Eli is here today with pupils from his school. As part of our free tickets for schools and community group scheme, we are delighted to have pupils, parents and staff from Lyndhurst Primary School attending today. We hope Eli and all the families from Lyndhurst enjoy the game today. If you work in a school or know a school, who might like to take us up on our free ticket offer, please ask them to contact us on schools.dhfc@gmail.com.

At half time today, we have a walking football demonstration taking place on the pitch. Walking football is a variant of association football that is aimed at keeping people aged over 50 involved with football if, due to a lack of mobility or for other reason, they are not able to play the traditional game. The sport can be played both indoors and outdoors. Walking football was devised, during 2011, by the Chesterfield F.C. Community Trust. Coverage of a session on Sky Sports News and a documentary aired on Sky Sports Football in October 2017, led to several other clubs taking up this version of the game. It has since become a current craze. The demonstration today has been organised by the charity Silverfit.

Silverfit (founded in 2013) is an exciting, rapidly expanding charity led by older people for older people. They aim to promote happier, healthier ageing through physical activity and at the same time combat social isolation. Their `sandwich` formula of socialising /exercise/socialising for older people is unique, increasing activity levels and helping people make new friends, feel more confident and enjoy life as they age. The half time demonstration will also include a performance by the renowned Silverfit Cheerleaders. To find out more about the fantastic work of this charity or to get involved, visit
www.silverfit.org.uk.

Finally, next weekend is our official charity partner match in aid of Redthread. Redthread are a charity which aims to empower young people to thrive as they navigate the challenging transition to adulthood by integrating trauma-informed youth work into the health sector.

There will be a range of fundraising activities taking place before, during and after our game against Hemel Hempstead. This will include a specially commissioned Redthread kit which the players will wear during the match. This one off kit will then be auctioned. To find out more about this special kit and how to bid for a shirt, keep an eye on the club website.

As always, if you have questions about our community work or have any new ideas, please get in touch.

I hope you enjoy the game today,
Rob Hyneman
DHFC Community Lead
@DHFC_Community
comunity.dhfc@gmail.com