As an avid Doncaster Rovers fan, Mick Heatlie, training manager at DHL Bawtry, jumped at the chance of working with recently promoted Doncaster Rovers to spread the word about road and truck safety among local children.
When he heard the newly formed Doncaster Rovers Community Sport and Education Foundation was looking for local businesses to join them in promoting health, fitness and safety in the community, he knew it was the start of something big.
On Thursday 3 July, at the Keepmoat Stadium, one hundred children joined the Foundation, DHL, Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council and South Yorkshire Police for the launch of the new partnership. St Peters RC and Hexthorpe Primary Schools supplied the willing pupils, who met at the stadium for a day that was both serious and fun. They listened to the sobering story of Nicky Webber, who was run over at the age of nine and is now in a wheelchair. She explained the impact her accident has had on her life. They also had the chance to look round a 40 foot DHL lorry and learn about all aspects of staying safe around trucks (see below) and then had the chance of a stadium tour and kick around, not forgetting the opportunity to eat their sandwiches in the stand.
The Doncaster Rovers Community Sport and Education Foundation was only launched in April of this year, following the disbanding of Football in the Community in 2007. It aims to help children in the Doncaster area towards a more healthy and active lifestyle. As Richard Bailey, community officer, explains, "I have a really personal interest in road safety, as I was knocked over about 15 years ago and spent a couple of weeks in hospital. So when DHL approached us and we started to talk about how we could work together, TACS was just perfect."
Trucks and Child Safety (TACS) is a national safety training programme run by the Exel Foundation and employees of DHL. It aims to help keep children safe around larger vehicles on the road. The Foundation organises one day TACS training courses for UK employee volunteers so they can become demonstrators. These trainers then go into schools and around 10,000 children (between the ages of 7 and 11) take part in the programme each year free of charge. The Exel Foundation is an independent charity which works hand in hand with DHL to encourage all employees to give something back to the communities in which they live and work.
"We started taking our trucks into Doncaster schools in 2007 and have trained about 2000 children so far, but you can't get trucks into all schools just because of the size," Mick explains. "This day has been fantastic. The three qualified TACS demonstrators did a brilliant job. They were Pete Denton, Alec Laird and Russ Barber - all from DHL in Bawtry."
"By joining forces with the Rovers, we hope to reach more children and that the kids will learn a valuable lesson in a fun way. This launch day will stick in their memories and if just one child is saved from a serious accident, then it will have all been worthwhile."
