Dons Local Action Group transform from stadium fundraisers to vital community lifeline during Covid-19 crisis

After raising over £5million to fund AFC Wimbledon’s move back to Plough Lane, the club’s supporters took on a new challenge in March when the coronavirus pandemic hit.

A 100-person strong WhatsApp group, who had been the drivers of the successful Plough Lane Bond, transformed overnight from a fundraising machine to a Covid-19 response team.

Since the pandemic hit they have been working tirelessly to support the local community across Wandsworth, Merton and Kingston with food, furniture and even laptops.

And what started as messages in a WhatsApp group has swelled to a team of 1,500 people, some of whom aren’t even Wimbledon fans, but have joined the Dons Local Action Group’s growing army of volunteers.

“I sent a note in the WhatsApp group on March 17,” says Xavier Wiggins, one of the key drivers behind Dons Local Action.

“I said: ‘Look, we really should do something about the impeding Covid nightmare. Who’s up for it?’ And I was just getting pinged left, right and centre. It was amazing.

“Right at the beginning it was all AFC Wimbledon fans, saying we have got to do something for our community, but we’ve got 1,500 volunteers now.

“It is still mainly Wimbledon fans, but there are plenty of people who have nothing to do with Wimbledon, nothing to do with football. Some of them have never been to a game.

“It has evolved. We have turned from a Covid response team into a permanent entity within the AFC Wimbledon foundation.”

The level of the Dons Local Action’s operation is now huge and to date they’ve delivered 35,000 weekly food parcels to local households and a further 87,500 food boxes to local organisations and charities.

In addition to that, 850 laptops have gone to those in digital poverty and 150 pieces of furniture and appliances have gone to local residents.

And all of this has happened in the first six months of a volunteer group looking to save their community after saving their club.

“Success for Wimbledon as a football club, for me, isn’t the odd punt at the Championship,” says Wiggins.

“Success is being a force for good in the heart of our community. I have always thought that.

“We can harness the passion of a fan base. We just don’t take no for an answer. We are not frightened of challenges, we just push on and do it.

“The reaction of Wimbledon fans to this has been a source of immense pride. It hasn’t surprised me because of what we have achieved in the past, but to have done it and to keep doing what we are doing as a group of fans, is amazing. I think we are redefining what success looks like.”

Wiggins stresses there is no way Dons Local Action could thrive without the support of other groups. They now directly work with local MPs and councillors, both of which have come to rely on the volunteer team.

“We had Paul White, the Labour councillor for Tooting, speaking to us earlier in the pandemic,” says Wiggins.

“He had a family that had been burned out of their property. They were being moved to temporary accommodation and they just had the clothes on their back. They had no towels, bedding, underwear, food and furniture.

“Within 24 hours, with the list that Paul gave us, they got everything they needed. Paul knew we could achieve it.”

Given their fine work, Wiggins unsurprisingly confirms Dons Local Action is here to stay as they continue to support the community. They are also planning to expand into new areas, too.

“After this half term, we are starting mentoring,” says Wiggins. “So we have got a number of people in the group that are going to be mentoring people who will benefit from it – young adults in our community.

"We are matching them with the people who have got relevant skills and the appetite to help.

“We are just trying to improve the communities that we live in. We have been central to the community and this evolved from just Wimbledon fans into all sorts of people – groups of mums, teachers and students. Everyone has got involved.”

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