Story added: 23rd March 2015

The club’s Community Week ended fittingly last Saturday with Norwich City’s Down’s Syndrome teamreceiving a rousing reception at Carrow Road.

The CSF-supported team paraded in front of the Jarrold Stand at half-time of the Nottingham Forest fixture, accompanied by counterparts from Lincoln City.

Both teams had enjoyed a match prior to the fixture at CSF’s facility next to the stadium and the thrill of stepping out onto the Carrow Road pitch capped off a memorable day.

They were joined by representatives from the Pink ‘Un Pickers, a Norwich fangroup, who had chosen CSF as their charity of the year and who had funded the tournament.

Earlier, 12-year-old Will Clarke, a participant in CSF’s disability programmes, had the honour of bringing out the matchball onto the pitch.

As the fixture’s Community Hero, he was introduced to the crowd before kick-off and got the opportunity to lead the traditional pre-match “On the Ball, City!” song.

Alongside the on-pitch activities, volunteers, many of whom are parents of children who have been supported by CSF, took part in a ground-collection outside the stadium.

A total of £2,462.76 was raised for CSF’s Sporting Light Appeal, which will go towards helping disadvantaged and disabled people – such as the DS team and Will – enjoy the benefits of sport.

City’s players also donated their worn match-shirts to the Foundation to auction out, details of which will be released shortly.

CSF Fundraising Officer Emma Fletcher said: “All week we had raised awareness for the programmes, funders, fundraisers and participants that make up the club’s Foundation.

“It was fantastic to see it culminate in such a special day on Saturday at Carrow Road. The response from the fans at the ground-collection was amazing. Many Canaries fans I spoke to on the day said how touched they were to see the DS team have their moment on the pitch.”

Community Week was a chance to raise awareness for the various programmes, people and participants that engage with CSF on a weekly basis, as well as showing appreciation to the funders and fundraisers who make it possible, including main Norwich City Football Club main sponsor Aviva.

Alongside the Saturday activity, some of the many events that took place included ground tours of Carrow Road for local disability schools and participants on CSF’s sports programme for senior citizens, Extra Time.

Volunteers from Aviva supported CSF activities during the week, including at the Aviva-funded Disability Grand Prix League sessions.

The week coincided with the news that Norwich City have been shortlisted for the Football League Community Club of the Year Award.