sported. is the UK’s leading sport for development charity helping to transform the lives of disadvantaged young people. They do this by supporting community and voluntary sports groups, which deliver sport for development. Their aim is to help them grow and run to the best of their ability. This helps to change young people’s lives aged 11-25.
There are thousands of these organisations throughout the UK. However many of them don’t have the funding or business expertise to run at their full potential. That’s where sported. comes in. They are a free membership organisation providing the business support and funding these groups really need. Not only does it help them to become more sustainable, it also lets them focus on doing what they do best – inspiring young people through sport.
sported. was set up by Sir Keith Mills, Deputy Chief Executive of 2012 Olympic bid team, to create a voice for the sport for development sector across the UK and deliver a powerful legacy at the grass roots of community sport. Duncan Wood-Allum has recently joined sported. as a mentor, supporting a local club in East Sussex develop its facilities. The club focuses on providing opportunities for disadvantaged young people and has achieved some significant outcomes to date. With a newly refurbished facility, it will be able to extend its reach and provide positive opportunities for significantly more young people in the area.
Duncan said, “I was delighted to join sported. I’ve been very impressed with their professional approach and attitude to delivery of grassroots opportunities for young people in disadvantaged communities. The project I am currently supporting will enable me to call in a number of favours from specialists who work with SLC to maximise the chances of getting this club’s facilities designed, funded and up and running. Working with sported. gives me an opportunity to put something back into sport at a local level and to broaden my understanding of the challenges faced by grassroots sport to flourish in this current environment. Most importantly, I want to see this facility open and being used.”
Paul Napthine, Regional Manager for the South East from sported. said, “sported. would be keen for more specialists such as SLC to invest some pro bono time into supporting grassroots groups using sport to help develop disadvantaged young people become business savvy. This is very much a skills based volunteering opportunity using your skills to bridge the gap where a group might lack the experience or expertise. One of sported.’s aims is around bringing a network of professional support to the Voluntary and Community sports sector.”
For further information on how you can support local clubs through sported or if you are considering volunteering, contact: sported. 20 St James’s Street London SW1A 1ES Tel: +44(0)20 7389 1905 Fax: +44(0)20 7839 3772
General enquiries: info@sported.org.uk