We are delighted to announce that the Run 5k for NHS campaign setup by Kevin Keehan & Scott Kirkwood has won our Grassroots Project of the Year Award as part of The FA and McDonald's Grassroots Football Awards.

The awards aim to recognise and reward volunteers, match officials, clubs and leagues across the county who have made a difference to grassroots football in their local community.

When COVID-19 hit and put a stop to grassroots football, local players, Kevin and Scott set up Run 5k for NHS on JustGiving and social media encouraging the Sussex football community to run 5k and make a donation for Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS charitable funds to show gratitude for the NHS workers.

They took a negative situation and turned it into a positive, encouraging the Sussex football community (not just players) to go out for their daily allowed exercise and raise money for the NHS!

They launched and managed the @Run5k4NHS Instagram and Twitter social media channels, which quickly gathered following, and would have taken Kevin and Scott considerable time to oversee and post on to keep the awareness, momentum and positivity going.

To date, they have raised over £50,000 on their JustGiving page from over 3,000 supporters far exceeding their initial £3,000 target. They activated the Sussex football community, providing a way for Sussex football to say thank you to the NHS during the Coronavirus pandemic.

Their efforts were even recognised by England manager Gareth Southgate who took time out to call both Kevin and Scott to say a special thank you.

To find out more about The FA and McDonald's Grassroots Football Awards please contact:

Awards
E: Awards@SussexFA.com