Bee A Hero wins Community Project of the Year award | OneFootball

Brentford FC Community Sports Trust's blood donation initiative Bee A Hero was awarded Community Project of the Year at the London Football Awards on Thursday night.

Club ambassador Marcus Gayle and the Trust's senior health and wellbeing manager Emily Donovan were on hand to receive the award at Wembley Stadium from Troy Townsend MBE.

Nominated alongside Charlton Athletic's Live Well Hospital Discharge Project, and QPR in the Community Trust's Women's Refugee Project, Bee A Hero was praised for its impact on the community.

A collaborative project between the Trust and Brentford FC, Bee A Hero is aimed at addressing a local, regional and national need for more blood donors.

With the support of NHS Blood and Transplant and JCDecaux, fans and the local community were invited to visit the Fan Hive to find out their blood type in October 2024, prior to Brentford's Premier League match against Ipswich Town.

With no registration needed, attendees had the opportunity to learn more about blood donation while engaging with special guests, including Bees midfielder Josh Dasilva.

Club ambassador Marcus Gayle spearheaded the campaign, traveling to Westfield for his fifth blood donation with the NHS. There he met up with Calvin Campbell, who has been managing sickle cell disease his entire life, and now works with NHS Blood and Transplant to advocate for more people to give life-saving blood.

Currently only two per cent of blood donors in the UK are of Black heritage, and this initiative has a particular focus on raising awareness of the need for more blood donors from Black African and Black Caribbean communities. Bee A Hero followed on from NHS Blood and Transplant issuing the first ever amber alert due to blood stock shortages in the UK in 2022.

In response, the Trust has called on the local community and Brentford fans to find out their blood type and ultimately give blood. Marcus himself has overcome a fear of needles to donate blood several times since the campaign launched and now adopts a 'live to give' view.

Blood donors from all backgrounds are required to ensure there is the right blood available for patients who need it. 12,000 new Black heritage donors are needed to meet the growing demand for better-matched blood to treat disorders such as sickle cell.

Find out more information and to register as a blood donor.