PNE Community And Education Trust

History

The Trust has a long and proud history of serving its community through football, and the club were at the forefront of the initiative in its humble beginnings that has led the way for others to follow. 

Preston North End were one of six north west football clubs to set up a community programme in 1986 that would place the football club as the focal point for community sport and activity.

Starting out as the ‘Football in the Community programme’, spearheading the project was former PNE centre back Mick Baxter, the club’s first ever community officer who stated five primary objectives of the company. These were:

•  To provide temporary employment and training for unemployed people.
•  To promote closer links between professional football clubs and the community.
•  Involve minority and ethnic groups in social and recreational activities.
•  Prevent acts of hooliganism and vandalism by a programme of talks and visits involving professional players.
•  Maximise the facilities of the club.

Mick was the club’s community officer for three-years before his untimely passing at the age of just 32. 

The mantle was left to former player and now the PFA’s Assistant Director of Education, Oshor Williams to fill, and despite taking over in such tragic circumstances, the programme, under the fellowship of Oshor continued to grow with more programmes and more participants than ever before.

“My two years as the PNE Community Officer were invaluable and helped me develop myself as a person. It helped me realise the impact players can make simply by using a little of their time to give something back to the game and the fans who sustain the industry.”

Over 30-years on, the Trust has progressed into putting Preston North End at the forefront of community activity based on the fundamental principles it delivers. From delivering fun, engaging sessions to primary school children, to getting more women and girls participating in sport, the Trust serves a purpose to empower individuals to improve their lives and their environment.

Mission Statement

PNECET aims to connect people, inspire generations and help people to achieve their goals, through their three main strands of work:

• Community Engagement: Delivering initiatives to create a safer, stronger and more resilient community.
• Education: To provide an education pathway for all to help people achieve their goals.
• Health and Wellbeing: Tackling the health inequalities across Preston by supporting people to lead healthier and more active lifestyles.

Values

PNECET has four key values that underpin both its team and its service.

We are Preston North End Community and Education Trust, and our team is:

HOLISTIC: We strive to be holistic, with our participants at the heart of our provision, developing their physical, mental and emotional health, while taking social factors into consideration.

CREATIVE: We are creative in our approach, encouraging employees to seek or create the best solutions, show a willingness to experiment, take calculated risks and challenges.

AMBITIOUS: We always strive to be a forward-thinking organisation that delivers the best possible outcomes and continuously improves and grows.

PASSIONATE: We employ passionate individuals, who provide high-quality services, that are inspiring to our community to help drive a positive change.

We are Preston North End Community and Education Trust, and our service is:

SUSTAINABLE: We know that providing a service that our community can rely on will be sustainable and leave a lasting legacy.

EFFICIENT: We know that being efficient not only produces results, but it does so with minimum wasted effort or expense.

EMPOWERING: We believe that providing the correct tools and environment for our team and participants will increase independence and self-determination, to enable them to represent themselves and their community in a positive way.

DIVERSE: We believe that cultural perspectives can inspire our creativity and drive innovation in our community.