Cardiff Blues' academy players gave a helping hand to the local community on Monday, as they assisted in feeding the homeless at Cardiff city centre.
Organised by Cardiff Blues’ club chaplain, Martin Lewis, the entire crop of academy players were joined by head coach John Mulvihill, forwards coach, Tom Smith, and academy manager, Gruff Rees, at Charles Street.
Leading the group of players for the evening was Ben Thomas. The Wales under-20 international was left humbled by the experience, and is eager to get involved with similar process throughout the season.
“Helping out the community like this is something we’ve been doing for a while as an academy team, but it’s always a humbling project to get involved with, whether it’s your first time or your tenth time,” said Thomas.
“It’s a really important aspect of our development off-the-field, and it makes up appreciate how lucky we are to have simple things that we would usually take for granted, especially in the winter months.
“Experiences around the region give us perspectives on different lives outside rugby, and the real struggles that some people go through in order to survive from day to day. It helps develop us as people, not just players.
“I enjoy going around and talking to everyone - each person have their own unique story, and it’s interesting to learn their backgrounds.
“We’re really keen to do more and more of these activities in the future. As a group we’ve spoken a lot about Random Acts of Kindness - and the more we can do for the community, the better it is!
“As I have been involved with these nights for a while, I led the group, which meant I took charge in the preparations, especially trying to keep the shopping as less stressful as possible.”
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