Stones and Bardsley have gone above and beyond over the last 12 months to support City in the Community.
Stones helped CITC to celebrate its 35th anniversary this season by supporting the charity’s mental health programme, City Thrive.
Dialling into a session with teenagers, Stones discussed his own thoughts on the importance of mental health and shared coping strategies he uses throughout the season.
At Christmas, Stones also took part in a special surprise with local school children, when he dialled into a class to gift free Manchester City footballs.
The gift formed part of the ‘This City Loves Christmas’ campaign, whereby the Club and City in the Community funded and delivered a PUMA football to every primary school child in East Manchester and every child in foster care – a total of 6,000.
Karen Bardsley has also been a huge support to City in the Community this season, having donated her time on a number of occasions to visit various initiatives.
In August 2021, Bardsley - who announced her retirement from the game earlier this month - took part in a Walking Football session with included former members of the first Manchester City Women’s squad.
She was able to talk to the participants about their own experiences and discuss how football has changed for women in recent decades.
Bardsley’s second CITC visit was in support of the charity’s Children’s Mental Health Week campaign.
Like Stones earlier in the season, she was able to share personal thoughts on the importance of mental wellbeing and discuss coping strategies both in personal and work life.
Finally, Bardsely helped CITC to promote the return of its Blue Run, taking part in a very messy quiz with former teammate Julie Blakstad.
Missed it? Watch how the pair got on below.
On behalf of everyone at City in the Community, we would like to thank both John and Karen for their support over the last 12 months.
