Young Defender Helps Out In the Community

Port Vale defender Nathan Smith tried his hand at gardening as part of a community project at Agnes and Arthur Care Home in Bradeley on Wednesday.

The youngster joined Fire Cadets from Sandyford Fire Station aged 14-16 in giving the garden at the care home a facelift for the local residents-some of whom suffer from dementia or learning difficulties.

Smith said: “It’s very important that we show our faces and help out because they come and support us so we need to come back and support them in things that will benefit the community.

“Footballers are role models for kids, they look up to them a lot so if they see them doing good things for the community they’ll want to do it themselves.

Smith was joined at the care home by Jessica Patten, who is a Fire Cadet Instructor for the National Fire Cadets, and she was delighted that the Vale player could join the youngsters in sprucing up the garden.

“With this being a local care home to Port Vale Football Club, a lot of the cadets are fans of the club as well so we’re really pleased and happy we could get a player down to support us today.

“It’s really nice for us to give back to the community. I think young people don’t get the best reputation at the moment so for us it’s nice to come in and do something not only for the community, but also for the elderly members of the community.

Jess was also impressed by Nathan’s gardening skills at the event. “We’ve had plants out the back of the van, we’ve had some gloves on, some digging going on so if we can get some plants in and leave a lasting momento, that would be great.”