Blackpool FC Community Trust column: A hectic half term ahead

They are perfect for children to have fun, make new friends and improve their sports skills.

The Trust will be delivering a variety of exciting activities, including football, dodgeball, cricket, dance and many more.

These camps are designed to provide a fun and challenging environment for children of all skill levels, from the ages of five to 14. Booking is essential.

There are also Stars Camps – offering sports, arts, crafts, gaming and other activities – for seven to 18-year-olds who live with a disability.

Periodically, we also have external providers coming in to offer extra entertainment.

There are three pathways for participants to access Stars Camps: the Holiday Activity and Food (HAF) pathway, the Lancashire County Council’s Break Time pathway and the self-paid pathway.

You don’t need to have a formal disability diagnosis to access our camp and, if it would ease your child’s anxiety, we encourage siblings to come along too – even if they don’t have a disability.

We do have criteria to consider in order to provide the best environment for your child, so please get in touch to discuss.

The camps take place in the education and community centre at Bloomfield Road from October 23-27, running from 11am-3pm.

We will bring back our minibus service for October’s Stars Camps, helping participants get to and from the venue.

It will pick up and drop off from Lansdowne Road, Lytham St Annes, and Holly Road, Thornton Cleveleys.

Priority seating will be given to young people receiving Lancashire County Council’s Break Time service.

To find out if you are eligible, please get in touch.

It’s also been a year since BFCCT partnered with Blackpool Council and launched our men’s talking group, Get Vocal.

The group is aimed at supporting men aged 18+ by providing a safe, non-judgmental and confidential setting for them to talk openly about their mental health and challenges they may be facing.

The sessions take place every Monday evening in the North Stand Community Hub (6pm-8pm, excluding Bank Holidays).

Each week, men have the time and space to reflect on their week and talk about any challenges they have faced, as well as sharing the positives they have done to better support their wellbeing.

Conversations have included relationship breakdowns, financial worries, depression and anxiety, work stress and more.

Many of the men who attend the group share the same story about having previously put off coming and how difficult it was to make the initial first step through the door.

As a way to try and remove some of these barriers and to reach even more men, we launched The Get Vocal Podcast.

The first episode was released in August, followed by a further two since.

These will continue and we hope that men will listen or watch the podcast and feel empowered to make that first step.

For more information on any of the above, call 01253 34869, visit www.bfcct.co.uk or follow BFCCT on social media.