Norwich City Football Club Community Hero 2021-22

Every month during the 2021-22 Premier League season, the club and Fosters will be choosing a ‘Community Hero’ for a selected matchday.

For the Canaries’ fixture against Leicester City on the 28th August, we were delighted to highlight Mervyn Ivany and Oliver as our first Community Heroes of the season.

The duo have been going above and beyond in their fundraising efforts for Vision Norfolk, a charity for people living with sign loss and visual impairment.

Mervyn, 73, is a resident at Vison Norfolk’s sheltered housing, having lost his sight as a child, and is an avid football supporter and Norwich City fan. He has supported Vision Norfolk for many years, raising over £1,000 for the charity.

Oliver, nine, was born premature and has had problems from an early age with vision impairments. His parents felt lost about how to help him when he struggled at the beginning, but then they found Vision Norfolk and it was a huge help and relief. Since becoming part of Vision Norfolk, Oliver has made many friends and become more confident.

Robert Collins, individual giving fundraising manager for Vision Norfolk, said: “We wanted to select two people for our Community Hero award to show the broad range of our activities and support we offer – from young Oliver, growing up with sight loss, to Mervyn in our sheltered accommodation. We wanted to reward them both for their amazing input and fundraising activity.

“We are one of Norfolk’s oldest charities and have been the ‘one stop shop’ for local people with sight loss for over 215 years! We provide accommodation, befriending, equipment advice, a programme of activities for all ages, and more. From our centres in Norwich, King’s Lynn and Great Yarmouth, we have a countrywide reach into the rural parts of Norfolk. These last 16 months have been particularly hard for us as there was an increased demand on some of our services at a time when fundraising activity was curtailed.

“To find out more about our work and to help more local people like Oliver and Melvyn, please visit our website. There are 35,000 people living with sight loss in Norfolk, please help us to help them.”

Do you know someone who could be nominated for our Community Hero?

There are no restrictions as to who can nominate or be nominated. If there is anyone that you think deserves special recognition, whether the individual works in the emergency services, is a carer or charity and community champion – nominate someone by visiting the Community Hero page.