We are pleased to announce that UK based health charity Sport 4 Life, whose aim is to relieve poverty and help build community spirit through the power of sport, have signed up to a dedicated section on our charity blog.
Sport 4 LifeUK, a social enterprise set up to promote and deliver community sport and exercise in Birmingham, celebrated its first 18 months of charitable work with an evening event held in February 2008. Attended by supporters, associates and sporting dignitaries, including professional golfer Alison Nicholas MBE, the event saw guests entertained in a sporting style, with healthy fruit smoothies being made by a pedal-powered blender (the ‘smoothie bike’), with exercise-based games console the Ninetendo Wii getting hearts pounding, and with a table football tournament inspiring healthy competition all round. The event helped raise hundreds of pounds for community sport in Birmingham, and will be used to implement Sport 4 Life UK’s vision.
The Power Of Sport
Nelson Mandela once said –
‘sport has an important role to play in the lives of people. Sport has the power to change the world, the power to inspire, and the power to unite people in a way little else can’
It is precisely this power that Sport 4 Life UK is aiming to harness. We have a vision to change lives through the power of sport by relieving poverty, building community and improving health, and we are already seeing the power of sport in action. As Chief Executive James Forrest says ‘sport has a real power to engage with hard-to-reach groups and to change peoples’ lives for the better. Improved health, reduced stress, better community cohesion, personal development and less crime and anti-social behaviour are but a few of the outcomes we are seeing as a result of sports coaches working with and alongside local communities, and it is precisely these benefits that we want to see spread throughout Birmingham and further afield.’ The government, likewise, echoes these sentiments, with the Sport England policy document Sport Playing Its Part delineating 4 key contributions sport can make to society :-
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to healthier communities
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to safe, strong and sustainable communities
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to economic vitality and workforce development
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to meeting the needs of children and young people.
The power of sport is well recognised and well understood, therefore, but the real challenge comes in effectively using that power.
Getting Active in the Grass Roots
In its first year Sport 4 Life UK has focused its work within a number of deprived communities in Birmingham, and has delivered a diverse range projects.
The Street Sport initiative, a programme designed to provide constructive opportunity and personal development for disadvantaged children and young people, for example has been piloted on the Chamberlain Gardens Estate in Ladywood and the Stockfield Estate in Acocks Green. Structured and professional sports coaching sessions are delivered three times a week, with activities ranging from football to netball, from indoor rock climbing to kayaking, and from sports leadership courses to community tournaments, and are focused on engaging ‘at risk’, hard-to-reach and marginalised youngsters in activities that will benefit them physically, socially, educationally and morally.
‘its fun and it gets me out and active’Danny (Ladywood)
‘the coaches are friendly and its loads of fun’Joseph (Ladywood)
The Discover Sport programme, on the other hand, provides sporting opportunities for disadvantaged men in Birmingham, and is aiming to use sport as a tool to unite, integrate and empower those suffering from social exclusion and marginalisation. 30 to 40 men from refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds attend the All Nations Football Project every week, for example, while recovering substance users from the Slade Road Community Drug Team centre are benefitting from weekly football sessions designed to motivate participants to a healthier, substance-free lifestyle.
‘I feel reborn after running around’Mamadou Saliou Barry, Guinea-Conakry
Last, and certainly not least, the Exercise 4 Life project aims to combat poor physical and mental health and well-being amongst disadvantaged women by providing a unique 10-week aerobics programme. The course incorporates weekly hour-long aerobics classes, healthy eating workshops, exercising-at-home demonstrations, and introductions to mainstream gym classes, and is being delivered throughout the city including classes for young carers in Druids Heath, refugee women in Ladywood and disadvantaged mothers in Aston.
‘The class has enabled women who would not normally be able to access such activities to improve their health and fitness’Anna Toogood, Karis Neighbour Scheme
Get In Touch
Anyone interested in our charitable work is warmly invited to visit our website Sport4life, or to contact our office on 0121 429 4700.
