DERBY ROOFERS • TRUSTED LOCAL ROOFERS

Celebrating the local sports clubs, charities and organisations making Derby and Derbyshire a better place to live.

Over 20 Years Serving Derbyshire  |  Proud Local Supporter  |  Free Community Roof Checks

At Derby Roofers, we’ve been serving homeowners, landlords, and businesses across Derbyshire for over two decades. Over the last 20 years, we’ve learned that a successful business isn't just about quality craftsmanship and dependable service—it's about the people and places that surround us. We firmly believe that a strong business is built on actively supporting the community that supports us every day.

This dedicated hub is our way of giving back. On this page, we are proud to highlight and celebrate the local sports clubs, grassroots initiatives, charities, and community organisations making a real, positive difference across Derby, Belper, Mickleover, Long Eaton, and our surrounding Derbyshire towns.

From funding youth sports equipment and sponsoring matchday events to offering free drone surveys and roof health checks for non-profit community hubs, we are committed to building long-term, meaningful local partnerships. Explore our featured partners below to see how together, we’re helping our local region thrive.

PARTNER SPOTLIGHT

Few English clubs have a story as dramatic as Derby County FC, full of glory, heartbreak and stubborn resilience.

The club's first major trophy came in 1946, when they beat Charlton Athletic 4–1 in the first FA Cup final after the Second World War. Their golden age came in the late 1960s and 1970s, when Brian Clough and Peter Taylor transformed a struggling Second Division side into league champions in 1972. Derby reached a European Cup semi-final the following year, and under Dave Mackay they won the title again in 1975.

The modern era has been more turbulent. In 2007–08 Derby set an unwanted Premier League record by finishing with just 11 points. Financial troubles later pushed the club into administration in 2021, and a heavy points deduction led to relegation to League One. Under new local ownership, though, the Rams fought back and won promotion to the Championship in 2024.

Passionate, loyal and fiercely proud, Derby County's supporters, along with their bitter rivalry with Nottingham Forest, keep the club at the heart of East Midlands football.

PARTNER SPOTLIGHT

The University of Derby may carry a modern title, but its roots stretch back more than 170 years to the heart of Victorian England.

Its story begins in 1851 with a Church of England college set up to train schoolmistresses, later known as Bishop Lonsdale College. Just two years later, in 1853, the Derby School of Art opened its doors, giving the town a place to nurture the creative and technical skills that powered its industries. For over a century these institutions grew separately, shaping generations of teachers, artists and engineers.

In 1977 the teacher training college merged with the Derby College of Art and Technology to form the Derbyshire College of Higher Education. The new institution grew quickly, and when the government reformed higher education in 1992, it gained full university status and became the University of Derby.

Today the university's main campus sits on Kedleston Road on the edge of the city, with further sites spread across Derbyshire. Its most striking home is in the spa town of Buxton, where courses have been taught beneath the Devonshire Dome. Originally built as stables for the Duke of Devonshire's horses and later converted into a hospital, the dome was once the largest unsupported dome in the world. The university also runs Derby Theatre, which gives performing arts students rare hands-on experience in a working professional venue.

Derby has built its reputation on practical, career-focused teaching that has close links to the region's employers, including major engineering firms such as Rolls-Royce. It welcomes a large share of students who are first in their families to attend university, and it has been recognised for the quality of its teaching.

From Victorian classrooms to a modern, diverse university with students from around the world, the University of Derby remains firmly rooted in the city it serves.

PARTNER SPOTLIGHT

Derby City Mission belongs to a long tradition of Christian “city missions” in Britain. The movement began in 1826, when David Nasmith founded the first city mission in Glasgow, and others followed, including one in London in 1835. These missions aimed to meet both the practical and spiritual needs of people in struggling urban communities, and Derby's own mission carries that spirit into the present day.

The modern charity has surprisingly humble beginnings. Founded in 1989, it started out by providing Christmas meals for senior citizens. From that small act of kindness grew a much wider ministry. By 2010 its work included debt and welfare benefits advice, Street Pastors, support for homeless people and street drinkers, social groups for the elderly, and help for disadvantaged families at Christmas. Since 2009, Derby Street Pastors have walked the city centre every Friday and Saturday night, offering first aid, a listening ear and help getting home safely to anyone who finds themselves vulnerable.

A turning point came in 2013. That April, Derby City Council began cutting funding for homeless beds by 85% over two years, and several hostels closed. The Mission responded by working with local churches, with seven church venues each opening one night a week in rotation to give 35 guests a warm welcome and a hot meal. These winter night shelters ran for seven years across Derby, Mansfield and Chesterfield, helping around 250 homeless people.

Today the charity operates from a community hub on Normanton Road. Its services include a foodbank, community pantry, hot meals, counselling, a wellbeing café, befriending, budget cooking classes and a Safe Space for rough sleepers that is open around the clock, every day of the year. Its mission remains as simple as it was in 1989: meeting people where they are and bringing hope to the city.

PARTNER SPOTLIGHT

Some charities are started by large institutions. Children First Derby began with one woman's response to a tragedy. In 1974 a Derby resident, Milly Wigley, read about the death of a neglected child and decided she could not simply turn the page. Instead she founded a charity to help local families and children, especially those who had experienced, or were at risk of, violence or mistreatment at home.

From the start, the aim was simple: to ease the distress and suffering of children and families in the local area. Over the decades, that purpose grew into a focus on early intervention, prevention and helping young people raise their aspirations.

Today the charity is based on Leopold Street in Derby and offers three tailored services. Its Supervised Family Time service gives children in care a safe, welcoming and child-friendly space to spend time with their families, so these visits can be meaningful and even fun. Its Family Support service sends trained volunteers to work one to one with local families who have children up to 18 living at home, helping parents move forward with their lives. The third service, Mentoring, pairs young people with supportive role models.

The charity has always depended on remarkable community commitment. In 2020 its work was honoured with the Queen's Award for Voluntary Service. When it marked its 50th anniversary with a celebration ball at Pride Park, the guests of honour included the founder, now Milly Wigley MBE, and Pat Dixon, a volunteer who had given more than 47 years to the cause.

The road ahead is not easy. Demand and the complexity of families' needs are higher than ever, while costs have risen, so the charity has launched an appeal to raise £50,000 to keep its services going. Half a century on, Children First Derby still lives up to its name.

If we've featured your club or charity above, you're welcome to add this badge to your own website — just copy the code below.

<a href="https://www.derbyroofers.co.uk/community-partners/" target="_blank"><img src="https://www.derbyroofers.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/featured-partner-badge.png" alt="Featured Community Partner - Derby Roofers" width="300" height="100"></a>

If you run a local sports club, charity or community group across Derby and Derbyshire, we’d love to hear from you. Get in touch and we'll feature your story on this page, free of charge.

Or call 01332-529704