Junior Firpo recently made a special visit to Castleton Primary School to join young students during one of their Healthy Holidays classroom-based sessions with the Leeds United Foundation.
The Healthy Holidays programme involves educational and multi-sports sessions delivered by coaches from the club’s official charity to children in deprived areas of Leeds, to ensure they are staying safe and active and have enough food to support their families through the holiday periods.
During the session, the Leeds United left-back was on hand to take part in a special smoothie making workshop, with the children able to learn more about fruit and vegetables and how to make different meals and drinks out of healthier foods. Junior wanted to get involved straight after his arrival, starting with cutting up the fruit for the smoothie whilst also speaking with the pupils about the healthy foods he eats as a professional footballer, he then did the taste test to make sure the smoothie was just right before handing out a taster to each child in attendance. Once the educational workshop had finished, the 25-year-old then spent time answering a number of questions from the youngsters before visiting some of the other classes around the school to chat and take photos.
Firpo spoke to LUTV during the visit and said: “We have had a really good time today. I actually have two kids so I know how they feel when they are happy and when they see footballers like us, it may just be a couple of minutes for us, but for them it is so much more. It’s really good for me and I would love to do this more if I can.
“It’s also super good because the teachers told me that these kids just live so close to here (in Armley) and they get to come here during Easter time and they are helping these families with fruits and vegetables, so it is super important that a club like Leeds United is helping these types of families for the day-to-day essentials.”
Simon Wood, the Health and Wellbeing Lead at the Leeds United Foundation, added: “Healthy Holidays is a funded programme that we run, where we go into different schools in Leeds and offer free holiday courses every four days. The children can come in and they get a pack at the start of the week, food hampers to take home and we do activities with them to keep them active during the holidays, helping to fend off any boredom but also just building that positive message around being fit, staying healthy and eating the right things.
“It was fantastic to have Junior with us at the workshop because the kids get really excited when we have a professional footballer in and then to see them cutting up the fruit, talking about fruit and vegetables, it’s really inspiring for them. To have a professional footballer, or someone you’ve maybe seen on television before, at your school where you come every day, it is just a really nice thing that we are able to do with the club.”
The Healthy Holidays half-term programme, that is being delivered throughout six areas in Leeds, is a free course provision for primary school aged children that live in deprived areas of the city, and it is currently being funded by the Leeds Community Fund and Arla. Throughout each half-term youngsters involved in the session receive a special LUFC goody bag, packed lunches and a food hamper that they can take home courtesy of Rethink Food.
For more information on the Healthy Holidays programme being delivered at the Leeds United Foundation, please contact [email protected].
