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Winners of the Vanessa Brown Volunteer Award announced!

Post author By Sported
Post date July 16, 2015

It gives us great pleasure to announce the first two winners of the Vanessa Brown Volunteer Award as Sue Martin and Derek May.

The award was launched this year to celebrate the life of Vanessa Brown – a much loved Sported staff member and friend – who sadly passed away last year.

The winners of the inaugural award were announced on Tuesday night by Sir Keith Mills and Baroness Sue Campbell at a special celebratory dinner for the nominated Sported volunteer mentors at the House of Lords.

All of Sported’s 250 volunteer mentors deserve a huge amount of credit for their passion and dedication, but special congratulations and thanks to Derek and Sue for their outstanding contribution to Sported’s work.

Derek has been a Sported mentor since 2012 and has mentored clubs including Bridgewater Salford ABC, United Estates of Wythenshawe and Wildcard ABC. His ability to articulate and communicate strategic goals and successfully coach those who he works with has delivered huge dividends, as the following testimonial demonstrates.

“The contribution of our mentor Derek has been invaluable – he has a wealth of knowledge and experience and is a fantastic motivator. Derek has helped to clarify our plans, open doors that were previously closed to us and made invaluable introductions. Derek has been a God send in more ways than one. He has been our missing piece of the jigsaw, providing clarity to our vision, boosting our morale and strengthening our motivation levels. Derek has certainly lent us new found energy and direction”

Sue has mentored numerous Sported members in the North East. Her experience working in the community sector has made her acutely aware of the sustainability and funding challenges faced by our members and is expertly placed to guide them through them.

“I genuinely feel Asian Business Connexions is in a better place all because of Sue. I do not think that paid expertise could have made a better or bigger impact, and the fact that Sue unreservedly took the time to help ABC must be worthy of recognition. If anyone deserves an award for giving away their valuable time voluntarily, then there is no one more suited than Sue Martin.”

Once again, many congratulations to Derek and Sue for their success at this year’s award, and a special thanks to those who were nominated – Amanda McDonald, Anas Hassan, Clive Barnard, Frank McGlone, John Horton, Maggie Pankhurst, Martin Briggs, Martin Corck, Neil Rutherford and Peter Lodge. Finally, thanks to all of Sported’s mentors who, because of your fantastic work, made the judging and shortlisting process such a difficult, but rewarding process!

Tags Baroness Sue Campbell, Sir Keith Mills, Sported volunteer mentors, Vanessa Brown Volunteer Award 2015, Volunteers

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Will Greenwood celebrates Volunteers’ Week with sporteducate

Post author By Sported
Post date June 4, 2015

Former England rugby international and World Cup winner, Will Greenwood, got into the spirit of Volunteers’ Week yesterday, when he paid a special visit to Hackney to volunteer with young people benefitting from Deutsche Bank and Sported’s joint sporteducate programme.

sporteducate is a unique programme developed by the charity Sported in partnership with Deutsche Bank’s Born to Be programme, which is helping young people from some of London’s poorest boroughs to achieve their potential in life through a combined programme of sport and education or employability sessions.

Thanks to funding and support from the programme, 33 youth club and sports clubs in London have been able to introduce education and employability sessions alongside their traditional sporting activities, thereby creating fun and accessible educational opportunities in the heart of local communities.

As a Sported ambassador, Greenwood took time out of his busy schedule to give 30 young people from sporteducate clubs a rugby masterclass. For many, it was the first time they have picked up a rugby ball. Delivering coaching alongside coaches from Hackney RFC, the World Cup winner gave an insight into the qualities it takes to succeed on the pitch and in the classroom.

Will Greenwood, Sported ambassador, said: “I wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn’t for the passion and commitment of the volunteer coaches at my local rugby club. Volunteers play a key role at grassroots, not just coaching young people to play sports, but offering life guidance and support.”

He added: “sporteducate offers young people a real leg-up and some fantastic opportunities to get ahead with their educations and future careers. It’s been a real privilege getting stuck in with the training and meeting such an energetic and talented bunch. Hopefully I’ve whetted their appetites of what’s to come with the World Cup!”

In keeping with Volunteers’ Week, an annual event which celebrates the contribution made by millions of volunteers across the UK, Greenwood was joined by employee volunteers from Deutsche Bank. Volunteering plays a key role in sporteducate, with Deutsche Bank employees lending their expertise to community clubs across London, from offering one-to-one mentoring and running CV workshops to lending club leaders free business support and advice.

Ellie from sporteducate member group, SkyWay, said: “I’m really pleased I came today, I nearly didn’t. I don’t follow rugby and this was my first time playing so I’m really happy to be given the MVP award. I can’t wait to show my mum my medal. I’m looking forward to watching the World Cup in a few months – I might even start playing myself.”

Tom Williams, sporteducate volunteer at Deutsche Bank, said: “It’s not every day you get the chance to volunteer with a World Cup winner! I have to say it was very rewarding to see so many of them enjoying it. There were a few reluctant and shy faces when they first turned up but within minutes Will had them bonding, laughing, energised and generally having a great time. That has to go down as the most fun 46 people can have on a five a side pitch.”

Justin Haywood, sporteducate volunteer at Deutsche Bank, said: “Being outdoors and seeing the smiles on the children’s faces made my day. The sense of inclusion, competitiveness and utter joy was very clearly evident.”

For more information about Hackney RFU and playing opportunities in Hackney, please visit:

www.hackneybulls.co.uk

www.hackneyrfc.co.uk

Tags Sporteducate, Volunteers' Week, Will Greenwood

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Sported founder Sir Keith Mills handed lifetime achievement award

Post author By Sported
Post date May 1, 2015

We are delighted to share the news that Sported’s founder and chairman, Sir Keith Mills, was awarded the Barclays Lifetime Achievement Award at the prestigious BT Sport Industry Awards last night, in recognition of his outstanding contribution to UK sport.

In front of a star-studded audience, Sir Keith was presented with his award by close friends Lord Coe and Sir Ben Ainslie.

Having made his name in business, founding Air Miles International and Chairing the Loyalty Management Group Ltd, Sir Keith has gone on to become a leading figure in UK sport. None more so than in September 2003, when he was appointed International President and CEO of London 2012 – the company that successfully won the bid for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Sir Keith remained central to London 2012’s success in his role as Deputy Chairman of LOCOG, working alongside Lord Sebastian Coe to deliver what was widely recognised as one of the best ever Olympic and Paralympic Games.

His commitment to deliver a lasting legacy from London 2012 endures to this day through the work of his foundation, Sported. The charity has grown considerably since Sir Keith founded it in 2008 and as many of our 3,000 members will attest, thanks to Sported’s support some of the most disadvantaged young people in the UK are being given new opportunities to overcome their personal challenges and turn their lives around.

Sir Keith was also former Chair of International Inspiration – the official international sports legacy programme of London 2012 and since 2005 has worked with 25 million children around the world.

As Sported goes from strength-to-strength, Sir Keith’s drive and ambition also shows no signs of abating. In 2014 Sir Keith became Chairman of the Invictus Games, working with Prince Harry to deliver a new major international sport event for wounded servicemen and women. Whilst this July, he will be found on the coast of Portsmouth, cheering on Ben Ainslie Racing as America’s Cup racing returns to British waters for the first time in 164 years.

On the latest accolade for Sir Keith, Chris Grant, Chief Executive of Sported, comments, “Never was an award better deserved. As architect of London 2012, Sir Keith changed the face of sport. As the founder of Sported, he has strengthened sport’s heart and extended its reach into previously marginalised communities across the UK. Along with our hundreds of brilliant volunteer mentors and thousands of inspiring member clubs, we’re proud to be part of a movement, which is bringing Sir Keith’s vision to life, and putting sport at the forefront of community development.”

Tags BT Sport Industry Awards, Lifetime Achievement Award, Sir Keith Mills

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An evening with Guillem Balagué

Post author By Sported
Post date April 17, 2015

On Wednesday night Deutsche Bank and Sported had the pleasure of hosting an evening with sporteducate’s Football Beyond Border (FBB) and its Patron, Sky Sport’s La Liga pundit and author Guillem Balagué, as he treated over 130 young people to a special viewing of his documentary ‘The Making of Cristiano Ronaldo’.

One of the cornerstones of sporteducate and the work of our 33 clubs is that in life, as in sport, personal success comes down more to mindset, hard work and discipline, as it does to any natural gifts or abilities. What better way to demonstrate this and to capture the imagination of a young audience, than profiling the rise of Cristiano Ronaldo – one of the world’s biggest sport stars and someone who exemplifies the virtues of hard-work, ambition and determination to succeed. In his documentary, Guillem travels to Portugal, the birthplace of Ronaldo, to speak to those who know him and who knew him in his youth, about why he has gone on to be one of the best footballers on the planet.

The scene for the evening was set by Deutsche Bank employees Richard Moffat and Samanthi Dharmadasa who delivered a compelling presentation on developing a ‘Growth Mindset’. Using modern celebrities as examples, Richard and Samanthi explored themes such as ‘What makes people successful?’ and ‘Is artistic ability a gift?’

Following the screening of ‘The Making of Cristiano Ronaldo’, Guillem joined a guest panel chaired by FBB’s Jasper Kain and including Sported’s Chief Executive, Chris Grant, and Chelsea Ladies and England footballer and Deutsche Bank employee, Claire Rafferty, to discuss the key factors involved in succeeding in sport and in life.

In the following snippet taken from the event’s panel discussion, Chris Grant talks about how young people can apply the lessons they learn playing sport to their everyday lives.

Amongst the audience at Deutsche Bank, were nine young people from St. Mirren Football Club’s Street Stuff programme, who travelled all the way down from Scotland as part of a football exchange programme. Last summer, FBB took a group of their year 7 boys (11-12 year olds) on a football tour to Scotland to build upon the weekly homework and mentoring sessions that have been running as part of the sporteducate. Having played Street Stuff on their home turf, this week saw the return home-leg, with FBB playing a re-match in their Youth Football Beyond Borders Tournament held at Colney Heath. Demonstrating the growing collaboration amongst sporteducate members, FBB even arranged a special warm-up game for Street Stuff against fellow sporteducate member, St Matthews Project, with the Brixton-based team walking away proud winners 7-2!

A massive thank you to Deutsche Bank for hosting the event, Guillem and Clare for their insight into the professional world of football, and finally all the young people, club leaders and DB staff who joined us for a fantastic evening!

Tags Deutsche Bank, football beyond borders, guillem balague, Sporteducate

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52 challenges, 52 weeks – no sweat!

Post author By Sported
Post date January 26, 2015

When it comes to exercise and staying active, most people have the best of intentions. You start the week raring to go, but somehow life just gets in the way. You end up having to work late, you miss your train home or that planned early morning run goes out the window as you hit the snooze button for 30 more minutes in bed!

One woman who’s determined to shake off the shackles of the 9 to 5 though, is Annie from London. In 2015, alongside her busy job in the City, Annie will be undertaking 52 physical challenges, one for every week of the year. From walking along the Thames to hiking up Snowdon, the list spans a wide range of activities and, indeed, countries.

If this wasn’t amazing enough, Annie has decided to complete this awesome feat whilst fundraising for Sported and Children with Cancer.

We caught up with Annie to find out more.

So what exactly are you doing?

“I’m doing 52 challenges in 52 weeks this year. It came about as an idea to get me to focus and to do the things I love, which is being outside and active.

My goal is to make you want to get up and go – to explore, to experience and to energise. That’s why I’ve chosen such a variety of places. The aim is to gather a crowd for each event to travel, participate and celebrate together. I want to help remove the barriers to being active – I’m trying to remove all the excuses. It’s more about showcasing the joys of exercise and exploring.”

How are you going to fit in all the training and challenges into your already busy schedule?

“I prefer exercising in the morning. I will get up at 6am and do an hour’s exercise, get to the office and be at my desk for 8.30 every morning. I prefer evenings to be my down time, relaxing with my friends and family. At weekends I slog it though!

Last year I barely did any exercise, I kept fit but I didn’t do any challenges, other than one overnight cycle. It’s going to be really tricky to fit it all in and it has been an issue in the past. I’m lucky in that I can tailor my commute to incorporate exercise, so I can cycle, run or walk into work. To me that’s an easy time to be efficient, in terms of exercise. Just training for it takes a crazy amount of organisation, let alone the weekend challenges. I’m constantly thinking – ‘Have I got the right kit?’ ‘Where did I leave my bike?’

What has been the response from your friends and family?

“Friends and family think I’m crazy, but they are really excited. A lot of them will be joining me; my two brothers are super sporty so they will join me for quite a few of them. ‘Inspiration’ is a word that is being used a lot, which I think is way too much, but at the same time that’s what I want. People think ‘Whoa you’re doing 52, but I could probably do one’. It’s helping and it’s all positive. I’m not trying to spam everyone at all, but the great thing is that friends are thinking ‘I know ten people that would like this’ and sending it to them, which is good because I want reach the right audience.”

Out of the 52 events, are there any which you are really looking forward to?

“I’m really excited about the Alpe d’Huez triathlon. It won’t be my first triathlon by then, but I’ve never done a triathlon before. It’s in the French Alps so you’ve got all the breath-taking scenery, the swim is in a mountain lake and the cycle summits the mountain, so that will be really exciting.

Snowdon is the one on home turf that I’m really excited about. Again you’re summiting a mountain, but there’s also been a lot of interest from other people wanting to join me.”

You will be raising money for Sported and Children with Cancer, why are these two causes close to your heart?

“Cancer is something that just makes me angry, in that it still exists in our world. I can’t even imagine what it would be like to have a child go through it. And the cause of Sported is brilliant – keeping young people busy and active is such a brilliant way to better their lives and those of their community. It’s something I really believe in.”

If you have been inspired by Annie, here is how you can get involved:

To see the list of Annie’s challenges, visit her website http://exerk.com/

Annie is still looking for challenge ideas, so if you know of any cool events, get in touch with her via annie@exerk.com

To sponsor Annie, please click here.

Tags 52 challenges, Annie, fundraising