Ilia Gruev inspires at Leeds United

Ilia Gruev, Leeds United midfielder and ambassador for Community Integrated Care, helped deliver an inspiring mentoring session for people supported by our charity at Leeds United’s training ground, inspiring them to follow their dreams.

The special event offered innovative mentoring to eight people we support across the Leeds and Yorkshire region, who were identified as having great potential to achieve new ambitions. The session twinned innovative and accessible personal development techniques led by specialists from our charity with the life lessons of the Premier League star. It gave participants the opportunity to explore their hopes for the future, identify personal dreams, and create practical plans to achieve them.

Using Community Integrated Care’s unique development techniques, which unite accessible and interactive workshop formats and behavioural science approaches that support real change, the session empowered people to think creatively and confidently about their ambitions. Ilia shared his own experiences of setting goals, staying motivated and overcoming challenges, helping participants reflect on the barriers they may face and the steps they can take to move closer to the lives they want to lead.

During the session, participants identified a range of personal ambitions that reflected the diversity of their interests, passions and aspirations. These included securing a part-time job, taking a first holiday abroad to Ibiza, finding opportunities for public speaking, speaking at the Houses of Parliament, attending a Leeds United match with a family member and experiencing the excitement of a Formula 1 race. They explored practical steps they could take to help turn these ambitions into reality. The visit also included a tour of Leeds United’s training ground, offering a rare opportunity to experience the environment where players prepare, train and pursue their own ambitions.

Ilia has been a passionate Ambassador for Community Integrated Care, creating dream experiences for many people supported by the charity through surprise visits, matchday opportunities and powerful personal moments of connection. To recognise this, Luke Parry, our Senior Programme and Partnerships Design Manager, and participants, presented Ilia with Community Integrated Care’s Special Recognition commendation – which is given to supporters who make a profound impact on the charity and the people it supports.

Ilia’s commitment to using football as a force for good through our charity and Leeds United was recently recognised with the Professional Footballers’ Association Community Champion Award.

The mentoring session reflects our Best Lives Possible mission, supporting people to recognise their potential, build confidence and have the right support to achieve the outcomes they want in their life.

Ilia Gruev said: “It’s been amazing working with Community Integrated Care to help people identify their dreams and goals. No matter how big the dreams are, they will make a huge difference for each person. In my career I am always trying to get a bit better at what I do and who I am as a person and it’s important that this community has the same opportunity to do this.”

Jenny Robinson, Inspiration Session participant, said: “Community Integrated Care and Ilia inviting us all down here was an amazing opportunity, a once-in-a-lifetime thing, because people like us don’t always get a chance to do things like this. It’s helped me to identify a big dream which is to speak at the Houses of Parliament about how people with disabilities deserve the same opportunities in life as everyone else, and to put the first steps in place towards achieving this.”

Declan Jenkinson, Inspiration Session participant, said: “It’s been great to meet Ilia today at Leeds United and to hear about how he faces obstacles and plans to overcome them. My dream is to find a part-time job, earn money and feel like I have value in society. As a person with disabilities, it can be hard to carry on pushing when you have setbacks and to stay positive and keep trying. Days like today make me feel like I can make the impossible possible.”

John Hughes, Director of Partnerships and Communities at Community Integrated Care, said: “Ilia has an incredible ability to connect with people and make them feel valued, inspired and believed in. He was the perfect guest for our special mentoring format that helps people to discover their ambitions, creating actionable plans for the future, and overcome barriers and achieve their dreams. Everyone really connected with the format and with Ilia, who brought to life the importance of setting goals and working towards your aspirations. This session has the potential to empower lasting change in our participants lives, inspiring them to find a path to achieving their own personal best life possible.”

“We are incredibly grateful to Ilia for his unwavering support of Community Integrated Care. It was an honour to present him with our Special Recognition commendation, thanking him for the incredible impact that he has made on many lives. We also thank Leeds United for their opening up such an inspiring venue.”