We've provided free holiday sports club for underprivileged children in York
6th March 2018
We've been able to make a real difference to young people in their community this season, by supporting the York City Football Club Foundation in providing 150 fully funded days on their ever-popular free holiday courses.
Through our sponsorship, the Foundation is able to offer local underprivileged children the opportunity to be involved in a range of engaging sports activities, whilst also offering them snacks and a packed lunch each day throughout the school holidays.
For many parents, the holidays can bring extra financial pressures. Spend on extra childcare and additional food (whilst school dinners aren’t available) can leave families in debt and struggling. Many families also suffer with social isolation during school holidays, as they cannot afford to take their children on days out, meaning much of their time is spent indoors.
So far this season, over 20 families (with children between 4 - 12 years old) have benefited through the new Holiday Club scheme, where all attendees have access to 5 fun filled hours of football each day.
Courses have so far given relief to both parents who are due to undergo cancer treatment and children acting as care-givers. The scheme has also given one-on-one time to children from larger families, and educates them on the benefits of a healthy lifestyle.
Paula Stainton, YCFC Foundation Manager said: “This has been a fantastic initiative so far. We are over the moon to be able to provide funded places, along with ensuring that the young people attending have access to nutritional snacks and meals to make sure they are catered for properly when the stability of school isn’t there, thanks to valuable support from Benenden.”
“The young people come from a variety of backgrounds and home lives, and we are able to use the power of football as a positive influence to engage them and allow them to potentially try new things; meet new people and gain new skills. Our biggest compliment comes from the smiles on the young people’s faces and comments that they don’t want to leave!”
