We are thrilled to announce that our grant application to sported. on behalf of Ockley Amateur Boxing Club in Bognor Regis, considered by the sported. grant panel on 11th December 2013, was successful. Duncan is Ockley ABC’s sported. mentor, and SLC have been working with the club to develop a 3 year business plan and grant application since June 2013.
Sported. is a UK charity, which aims to leave a lasting legacy from London 2012 by transforming the lives of disadvantaged young people through sport. Founded in 2008, sported. provides support to over 2,500 clubs through funding and business advice to help them grow and achieve their full potential as an organisation in order to enable them to reach and improve the lives of more disadvantaged young people.
Ockley ABC runs boxing classes for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds in Bognor Regis and will be using the grant to protect and enhance their programme, aiming to get young people off the streets and bring communities together. The club aims to strengthen its local community and improve community cohesion by bringing together different groups in the community to train together e.g. bringing young people from the local Eastern European and traveller communities into the club and training them with local young people.
The club’s activities also aim to reduce crime and antisocial behaviour by giving young people a positive focus for their time and energy and instilling discipline, dedication and respect in all members of the club, and reduce barriers to regular participation for marginalised. The grant will fund the purchase of new boxing equipment, including a competition boxing ring, web design and venue hire and will enable the club to extend its reach and ensure its sustainability in the future.
The club intends to put in place a programme of boxing shows and skills bouts that will allow the young people involved with the club to showcase their skills to friends and family and pit themselves against other young boxers in the region. It is also hoped that the boxing shows will elevate the club’s profile and allow them to reach more disadvantaged young people in the area. Ockley will also be seeking to increase its links with statutory services through the local authority, schools and the police in order to involve more young people locally in boxing through the club.
Anna Dalton, Research Consultant at SLC said, “We’re very proud to be involved in supporting a club that delivers such fantastic benefits to its local community. They are already doing a great job engaging with young people in their local community and making a tangible difference to their lives. I hope the work we’ve done with the club so far in helping them develop a business plan and get this funding will enable them to expand their reach and be sustainable in the future. We will continue to support Ockley ABC as they implement this project and would like to thank sported., and in particular, South East Regional Manager, Jo Irving, for all the support they have given the club and SLC throughout the grant application process.”
Faz Chitma, Head Coach at Ockley ABC said, “We’re thrilled to have been awarded this grant which will make a big difference to the club in the future. We want to continue to grow as a club and get more young people in Bognor involved in boxing, and hopefully this grant will allow us to do that for many years to come. We’d like to thank Jo at sported., and Duncan and Anna at SLC for all their help and support. We’re now looking forward to our first show on 8th February 2014 at Pagham Village Hall.”
To learn more about sported. or to find out how to get involved, click here. To make a donation to sported. to help fund their work, click here. Contact us by email at info@sportleisureculture.co.uk or call on 01444 459927.