Children First Derby are delighted to have been awarded a grant from the Barclays Community Football Fund, being delivered in partnership with Sported, to help establish a five-a-side Football Club as part of the Group Mentoring activities that the charity delivers.
The Mentoring Service at Children First Derby offers 1-to-1 mentoring providing confidential, community-based support for young people aged 10 to 18 facing challenges. They offer regular, group and intensive mentoring.
Chief Executive, Irshad Baqui, said, “Group Mentoring and the diversionary activities offered as part of this are a critical part of our mentoring model. Diversionary activities help to divert your attention from things that are less desirable or stressful to manage. The significant improvements in life prospects for young people at risk, from participating in diversionary activities and the benefits to the wider community are well documented. We currently run a Drama Group and a Climbing Club and are excited to now be able to offer more choice of activities with the new football club.
Five-a-side football will help engaging those young people that are interested in football in the mentoring process. We are grateful to Barclays Community Fund for this grant which will be used for purchase of the equipment for the initial set-up, such as balls, cones, kits, and other equipment as well as for venue hire.”
The Barclays Community Football Fund launched in 2022. The fund will primarily support young people in deprived or underrepresented areas through local organisations (like Children First Derby), many of whom are not yet benefitting from the wider football pyramid. Sported is the largest network of community sports groups in the UK, supporting more than 2,600 groups to help disadvantaged young people build confidence, gain skills and get their lives on track.
Nicola Walker, Chief Executive of Sported said: “Groups like Children First Derby make a real difference in the lives of young people and it’s so important that they get the support and resources they need to sustain their good work. Through Sported’s partnership with Barclays, we want to widen the net of opportunities and this new football project will give more youths in Derby the chance to get a kick out of sport.”