Dozens of disadvantaged kids from across Newcastle and North Tyneside will get the chance to try new sports this year thanks to a four-figure equipment grant from a regional employer.
The Blue Flames Sporting Club is running free holiday clubs at its Benton sports ground over the Easter, summer and Christmas school holidays for 5-12 year-old children, with activities ranging from tennis, football and cricket through to badminton, gymnastics and craft sessions.
The holiday clubs are designed to engage local young people in different activities that might otherwise be out of reach to them for financial reasons, as well as to help them build their self-confidence, make new friends and stay active.
A hot meal is provided as part of each day’s schedule, with information also being shared on healthy eating and nutrition, while lots of signposting information is also made available to attending families on services that might help them address other individual needs.
The Blue Flames team had been looking at how they might refresh their equipment stocks, so that this year’s intake could get to try some different activities.
And after securing a £2,000 grant from the Banks Group, it has now bought the equipment required for playing pickleball, an indoor racket sport which combines elements of tennis, badminton and table tennis and which has become one of the UK’s fastest-growing sports.
New futsal goals have also been purchased with the grant to give more young people the chance to get onto the club’s football pitches at the same time.
The Blue Flames Sporting Club is a not-for-profit business whose mission is to provide quality sport and leisure facilities at affordable prices to communities across Newcastle and North Tyneside.
It’s the second time that Banks has supported the club’s work, with a £15,000 grant from the Banks Community Fund in 2017 enabling the Club to purchase two new sets of lightweight full-size goals, as well as new sets of five-a-side goals, netball posts, tennis nets, gym mats and badminton nets.
Operations director Amy Rutherford says: “We’ve been running our holiday camps for a few years now and they always make a hugely positive impact on the children that attend them and on their families as well.
“We’ve seen the self-confidence of so many of these young people blossoming during the days they spend with us as they make new friends, develop new skills and find new hobbies that they’ll hopefully be able to take on in the future.
“We try to give them opportunities in a supportive environment which might otherwise not be available while also keeping them busy and active, which is also a big help to their families, and we’re also able to share lots of useful information with parents and carers that could help them deal with any issues they’re facing.
“Refreshing our equipment stocks means we can keep giving children the chance to try a wide range of different activities, but we didn’t have the funds available to make any new purchases this year until Banks stepped in.
“We’re really grateful for their support and know that the new equipment they’ve funded is going to be really well used over this year’s school holidays and beyond.”
Jamilah Hassan, community relations manager at the Banks Group, adds: “The Blue Flames team steps up every year to make sure local kids can get active in lots of different ways and we’re really pleased to be able to support their amazing work.”
The Banks Group’s community funds are independently managed by Point North (formerly the County Durham Community Foundation).
Anyone from a community close to a Banks Group project who is interested in applying for funding from the Banks Community Fund should contact the company via its website enquiry form (www.banksgroup.co.uk/contact-us/) to find out if their group or project is eligible.