On Wednesday 15th November, Champions hosted a powerful and thought-provoking community event at Morecambe FC, led by our Morecambe Champions Mentor. The event brought together around 80 people from across the community, including young people, parents, carers, and professionals, all coming together to learn, reflect, and connect.
The day began with a deeply moving introduction from Kelly Brown, who founded Mero’s World following the murder of her son, Rhamero West. Kelly shared her personal journey with honest and courage, setting a meaningful tone for the event. Her story highlighted the devastating impact of violence while also showing how lived experience can be transformed into positive action, education, and prevention.
Throughout the evening, attendees took part in a range of engaging workshops delivered by organisations working on to tackle serious violence in our communities. Sessions were led by Leo’s Boxing, Lancashire Police, the Lancashire Violence Reduction Network, Shay Walsh MMA and Global Link, each workshop encouraged open conversations, practical learning, and positive engagement.
One of the most powerful moments of the evening came when a Champions mentee shared his own life story. Speaking honestly about the challenges he has faced, he explained how Champions has supported him and helped him make positive changes. His words were a real reflection of the impact mentoring and consistent support can have.
The emotions, energy, and message of the day were captured by spoken word artist, Nathan Parker, who documented the event through poetry. His work brings the voices and experiences of the event to life, and the video below offers a powerful insight into what the event meant to those involved.
The event at Morecambe FC showed the strength of collaboration and the importance of creating spaces where people can come together, have honest conversations and find out what support is available to them.
On Friday 15th December, the Mazuma Mobile Stadium was the venue for a powerful knife crime awareness week event. Over 50 young people gathered to hear Byron Highton from the JJ Effect deliver an unforgettable presentation about the devastating impact of knife crime.
Byron shared the tragic story of losing his brother, Jon-Jo to knife crime, blending hard-hitting messages with engaging moments that held everyone’s attention throughout.
The event was hosted by Morecambe FC Community Foundation as part of their engagement work on the Champions programme. The evening was supported by Champions from Morecambe FC Community Foundation, Blackburn Rovers Community Trust and Accrington Stanley Community Trust, alongside other local young people. Our Champions mentors played a key role in bringing the day together, ensuring its success and impact.
We were also delighted to see local MP, Lizzi Collinge, and Police and Crime Commissioner, Clive Grunshaw, who joined us to show their support for this important cause.
Serious Violence Sergeant from the Lancashire Violence Reduction Network, Dan Whitaker praised the event, saying: “Events like this are crucial in helping young people understand the real consequences of knife crime. Byron’s story is an important reminder of why we all need to work together to keep our communities safe.”
Police and Crime Commissioner Clive Grunshaw said: “Carrying or using knives is completely unacceptable and unnecessarily puts lives life at risk.
“Tackling serious violence will be a key priority in my Police and Crime Plan for Lancashire and I will ensure that Lancashire Police have the tools and resources they need to tackle this issue head on.
“Policing can’t deal with knife crime in isolation and education has a key part to play in reducing the number of people carrying knives. Working with charities like our Football Community Trusts as we are doing through our Violence Reduction Network, is a fantastic opportunity to engage with young people across Lancashire.
“Anything we can do to prevent knife crime is positive for Lancashire and ultimately makes our county safer.”
Above all, a big thank you to the young people who came along and got involved. Your willingness to listen, get involved, and share your thoughts made the event what it was.