Former champion sprinter Darren Campbell will join students in London today (Wednesday 19th December) to launch the Sky Living For Sport Youth Volunteering Project, designed to inspire 16-25 year olds to get involved in community sports initiatives.
The new drive, which taps into young people’s potential to become sports leaders and role models to younger children, is the result of a unique partnership between Sky, the Youth Sport Trust, and the youth volunteering charity v, and will see hundreds more young people take up sports volunteering opportunities in their area.
Darren, the Sky Living For Sport Ambassador, will be joined by Kevin Brennan Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Children, Young People and Families, Sue Campbell, Chair of the Youth Sport Trust, Terry Ryall, Chief Executive of v, and young people from the project just starting out on their journey as volunteers at The Imagination Gallery in London’s West End.
The Sky Living For Sport Youth Volunteering Project will engage young people who may not normally become volunteers, either through perceived lack of opportunity, lack of confidence or challenging circumstances. They will be offered encouragement and practical support to take their passion for sport out into their local community. In return, they can gain self-esteem, leadership and teamwork skills, as well as valuable hands-on experience, which can help them move into higher education or employment.
The project will work with schools and further education colleges to identify young people aged between 16 and 18, who will be invited to attend one of a series of ‘inspiration days’ around the country. Here, they will work with inspirational athlete mentors, including Darren, to equip them with the practical resources, tips and motivation to take their interest in volunteering forward.
On returning to school or college, their teacher will take on the role of mentor, helping them find a suitable volunteering placement. This will involve anything from organising sports festivals for younger pupils, to helping out with less traditional sporting activities, such as organising sessions at skate parks or with local youth groups.
Darren Campbell, Sky Living For Sport Ambassador, said: “Sports volunteers are critical to British sport. They contribute to sport at every level, from grassroots through to high-profile events like the Olympics. Taking the first step for some young people can be quite daunting, as they don’t realise they have the skills and qualities to make them great leaders.
“Getting involved in sports volunteering through an initiative such as this can be a very powerful way for teenagers to raise their self-esteem and develop their potential through helping others, which is something I’m passionate about helping young people to do.”
Ben Stimson, BSkyB Director of Responsibility and Reputation “We are delighted that schools participating in Sky Living For Sport have found it helps them re-engage students at risk of opting out of mainstream education. Sky Living For Sport is a simple idea – it asks students what they want to do and helps them do it. Thanks to the Youth Sport Trust and v, Sky is pleased to be expanding this school initiative to outside the classroom by way of offering a range of volunteering opportunities for more young people”
Youth Sport Trust Chair, Sue Campbell, said: “Up to 70,000 volunteers will be needed to help put on the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, so there has never been a better time to get young people involved in sports volunteering. We’re sure these young volunteers will be able to build fantastic relationships with young people in their local area, using the power of sport to become role models to the next generation of youngsters involved in school and community sport.”
Terry Ryall, Chief Executive of v, says: “v is delighted to support this partnership which gives young people the opportunity to put their passion for sport into action to help their communities.”
The project is an extension to the successful Sky Living For Sport scheme, run by the Youth Sport Trust and Sky, which began as a way to re-engage young people aged 11-16 using the power of sport to help them achieve their potential in school. The new drive is an expansion of the scheme to reach young people aged 16-25 through sport and other volunteering opportunities.
As part of the partnership between the three organisations, Darren Campbell is also featuring in a promotional film showing across Sky’s network to encourage more people aged 16-25 to sign up for volunteering opportunities. Filming took place in Moss Side, Manchester, where Darren grew up, and features the former athlete running through the city’s streets, challenging youngsters from all backgrounds, playing all different sports, who he meets en route not just to follow him, but to take the lead themselves, and get involved in volunteering.
Without Britain’s army of volunteers, sport would simply not survive. For example,
• Sport volunteers contribute one billion hours each year to sport*
• That’s the equivalent of 720,000 paid workers*
• The value of time contributed by sports volunteers in England is estimated at over £14billion*
• A survey of 1,000 16-25 year olds commissioned by v found that sport was their number one interest, and is the sixth most popular volunteering activity that young people search for on the website vinspired.com
*Source: 'Sports Volunteering in England' research, commissioned by Sport England in 2002.
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Further information is available from Sophie Borromeo or Katie Smith at the Youth Sport Trust press office on 020 7278 7208 or email at sophie.borromeo@youthsporttrust.org or katie.smith@youthsporttrust.org
Darren, young volunteers and teachers will be available to discuss the programme in a limited number of one to one interviews, please register your interest early to ensure you reserve your slot.
Notes to editors
1. The Sky Living For Sport Youth Volunteering Project is jointly funded by Sky and v and delivered by the Youth Sport Trust. The scheme aims to reward these young people as they go through their volunteering journey offering incentives to continue with the initiative until they reach 50 hours of volunteering. Once this target is met, they can then join more structured volunteering programmes so they can continue volunteering after they leave the school or college environment.
2. Youth Sport Trust is a registered charity established in 1994 to build a brighter future for young people through sport. Its mission is to support the education and development of all young people through PE and sport.
3. Sky Living For Sport forms part of Sky’s wider commitment to supporting learning. Learning is one of 6 key focuses that make up The Bigger Picture, to find out more about Sky’s Bigger Picture go to www.jointhebiggerpicture.com
4. Sky is the UK's leading entertainment company and operates the most comprehensive multi-channel, multi-platform television service in the UK and Ireland. Around 21 million viewers in 8.6 million households enjoy an unprecedented choice of movies, news, entertainment, sports channels and interactive services on Sky digital, the UK and Ireland's first and most popular digital television service.
5. v is the youth volunteering charity launched in May 2006 whose mission is to inspire a new generation of young volunteers in England aged 16-25. v is supported by the Office of the Third Sector in the Cabinet Office.
6. v has been formed as an independent charity using an innovative new model which allows funds raised from the private sector to be matched by the Government. Up to £50 million has been allocated by the Government for this purpose over the next three years.