HIWCF is delighted to announce that £85,423 has been awarded in grants from the Made By Sport ‘Clubs In Crisis’ Fund. This investment in local grassroots sports clubs and organisations will leave a long-lasting and positive legacy for the futures of young people.
The Made By Sport #ClubsInCrisis Fund, supported by the Cash4Clubs scheme, is benefitting 40 clubs and organisations across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, enabling them to deliver sports development programmes for people under the age of 25. The grants aim to encourage and develop a range of life skills and knowledge that benefits both individuals and their local communities.
PORTSMOUTH
A grant of £2,021 to URBOND (pictured above) has enabled basketball, football and volleyball sessions to restart at the Charles Dickens Activity Centre in Portsmouth, following the organisation’s income being hugely affected by the Covid-19 restrictions.
Ousmane Drame, Founder and CEO at URBOND said, “URBOND’s sport programme offers open sessions for basketball, football and volleyball to which all participants are welcome regardless of their age, background or fitness/skill levels. The focus of this project is to promote positive activities and provide an environment which stimulates members of the community to improve fitness levels whilst supporting team building, tackling issues such as obesity and promoting inclusion. The grant enabled our organisation to cover additional costs such as the hire for the sports hall, standards balls and cleaning equipment for our community football and volleyball sessions as well as our youth basketball and volleyball sessions.”
WINCHESTER
A grant of £2,021 has been awarded to Move Momentum in Winchester for the Liberate Dance Youth Project supporting young people with disabilities.
Amanda Watkinson, CEO at Move Momentum said “People with disabilities already face significant inequalities in accessing activities to support mental and physical well-being, which has been compounded by the pandemic. We believe that dance can change people’s lives and that everyone should have access to high-quality dance education, to enrich their quality of life.”
NEW FOREST
A grant of £2,021 to DFJ Multisports in Lymington has allowed children to engage in a variety of sports and physical activities over the summer, inspiring a love of sport and learning how to become healthier in the longer term.
Sarah Collison, Business Manager and Development Officer at DFJ Multisports said, “Thank you to Made By Sport for this funding, which following the long periods of lockdown has had a massive impact on the sporting skills of disadvantaged children, while supporting them in their social skills for their return to school.”
FAREHAM
A grant of £2,021 to Burridge Cricket Club is encouraging cricketing skills for 140 children in the Fareham area. The club is supporting children to be more active, while enjoying all the fun and opportunities that playing a team sport brings.
Andrew Payne, Vice Chairman of Burridge Cricket Club said “The grant award has allowed us to continue to develop cricket for boys and girls in the local area, by providing the best facilities and coaches, and helping our Under 11’s team to win the Hampshire Cup this year. We continue to promote girls and ladies cricket and the under 11 team was a mixed team of boys and girls.”
A grant of £2,021 to another Fareham based group, Generation 2 Table Tennis Club, will provide coaching courses and new robotic training equipment to help members improve their technical skills, while supporting club members wishing to take part in local and national league competitions.
Mike Cooksley, Chairman at Generation 2 Table Tennis Club said, “The purchase of the robots has enabled more young players to receive accurately placed balls to enhance their basic shot development skills. The robots also enable them to receive more balls per minute, maximising training time.”
HAVANT & HAYLING
Evolution Twirlers is using a grant of £2,021 to fund hall hire costs for a baton twirling group in the Havant and Hayling area.
Vicki Boulton, Treasurer at Evolution Twirlers said, “Due to the pandemic, Evolution Twirlers had to close for over a year and lost many members. This grant is a lifeline allowing us to pay for additional training hall costs, equipment and uniforms and hopefully will encourage new members to join. The group are very excited to be able to get back to training, improving their twirling skills and general fitness.”
ISLE OF WIGHT
Ryde Swimming Club like most swimming clubs has struggled financially following the closures caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. The club are using their grant of £2,021 to build the club back up to full strength, while supporting athletes to return back to training and to help prevent them from leaving the sport.
Todd Miller, General Manager at Waterside Community Trust said, “The funding will provide more coaches to enable the club to continue training local talent and producing more great swimmers on our Island.”
Sophie Mason, CEO of Made By Sport, said: “We truly believe that community and grassroots clubs and organisations will provide a vital outlet for young people to not only recover from the effects of the pandemic but thrive in the future. That’s why we’re delighted to see so many groups across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight secure support from the Clubs In Crisis Fund.”
Sophie continued, “They offer more than just an opportunity to participate in sport, they allow young people to improve their mental health, learn invaluable life skills and keep them engaged in the local community. That’s why we’re thrilled to support UK Community Foundations and HIWCF in enabling these grants to be given to such worthy groups.”
Jacqui Scott, HIWCF Chief Executive added, “Sporting clubs and activities for young people are returning back to normal, thanks to the easing of Covid-19 restrictions, and we would like to thank Made By Sport for investing in sports at this time. These grants are making a real difference to the lives of local young people, providing them with fantastic opportunities to develop their skills and confidence after all the challenges and disruption they have experienced over the past 18 months. It is vital that we use sport as a tool to bring young people together to be more active and healthy, which in the longer term will help to bring our communities together.”
HIWCF is committed to supporting the resources and projects of smaller community groups and voluntary organisations across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. During 2020 the Foundation awarded over £2.3 million in grants to help disadvantaged and vulnerable people impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. HIWCF currently have grant funding programmes available until 4th October 2021 for local charitable and community organisations, via the HIWCF website: www.hiwcf.com/grants/
The 40 local sports clubs and organisations to receive a grant award from the Made By Sport funding programme are as follows:
| Club/Organisation Name | Area |
| Kingsclere Youth Football Club | Basingstoke and Deane |
| Loddon Sports Youth FC | Basingstoke and Deane |
| Stratfield Turgis & Hartley Wespall Cricket Club | Basingstoke and Deane |
| Solent Powerchair FC | East Hampshire |
| Netley Royals | Eastleigh |
| 1st Warsash Sea Scout Group | Fareham |
| Burridge Cricket Club | Fareham |
| Generation 2 Table Tennis Club | Fareham |
| Locks Heath Cricket Club Colts | Fareham |
| Botley Village Football Club | Gosport |
| Fleetlands Youth Football Club | Gosport |
| Eversley Cricket Club | Hart |
| Evolution Twirlers | Havant |
| Widbrook Utd | Havant |
| Arreton Cricket Club | Isle of Wight |
| Brading Town Youth Football Club | Isle of Wight |
| Isle of Wight Triathlon Club | Isle of Wight |
| Ryde Methodist Church | Isle of Wight |
| Ryde Saints Football Club | Isle of Wight |
| Ryde Swimming Club | Isle of Wight |
| Seaclose Swimming Club | Isle of Wight |
| DFJ Multisports C.I.C. | New Forest |
| Ringwood Town Football Club | New Forest |
| SCARF (Supporting Special Children and their Relatives & Friends) | New Forest |
| Winsor United FC | New Forest |
| 1st Portchester Rainbows and Brownies | Portsmouth |
| Spirit In Sport | Portsmouth |
| Urbond C.I.C | Portsmouth |
| Aldershot Boys and Girls FC | Rushmoor |
| Aldershot Cricket Club | Rushmoor |
| Brendon 66 Youth Football Club | Southampton |
| City Central Youth Football Club | Southampton |
| QK Southampton FC | Southampton |
| Royal Southampton Yacht Club Trust | Southampton |
| Southampton Unit 311 of the Sea Cadet Corps | Southampton |
| Andover Town Youth FC | Test Valley |
| Hambledon Tennis Club | Winchester |
| Move Momentum | Winchester |
| Shedfield Recreation Ground Charity | Winchester |
| Winchester Youth FC | Winchester |
About Made By Sport and the ‘Clubs In Crisis’ Fund
Made By Sport is the leading organisation that raises awareness of the power of sport and raises funds for sports clubs and organisations across the UK. The Clubs In Crisis Fund is part of a wider campaign that believes sport is the best vehicle for creating societal change for young people. Find out more about the #ClubsInCrisis fund and how your club can secure a grant here: https://bit.ly/3vODUod
As grassroots sport once again begins its phased return across the UK, it is now essential that we use the power of sport to build back better for our young people, who have been blighted by this pandemic. We believe sport is a vital tool to help young people develop and overcome social issues such as mental health, fight crime and anti-social behaviour, increase employment skills and pathways and to bring communities together. As the UK begins to plan for a post-pandemic future, sport and community clubs need to play a vital role in our recovery.
It is estimated that sport returns £4 for every £1 spent on reductions in spending on crime, truancy and ill health. Young people who are physically active thanks to their local sports clubs and organisations can show up to seven times better levels of teamwork, six times better levels of greater resilience and five times better communication skills.
Research also conducted by Newton for Made By Sport revealed that before the pandemic, over 40% of local community sports clubs were either in deficit or just breaking even. The pandemic has put over 25% of community clubs at risk of permanent closure.
