The Northampton Town Community Trust has been awarded a grant of £2,968.00 over the next year by BBC Children in Need. This grant will fund the adaption of NTFC Community Trust pan disability holiday courses to be delivered remotely in light of the Coronavirus pandemic and help make a difference to the lives of disadvantaged children and young people across Northamptonshire.
Northampton Town FC Community Trust Pan Disability Holiday Courses aim to give children the confidence to play football in an environment in which they feel safe and in which they can develop skills, have fun and enjoy themselves. With the money from BBC Children in Need, Northampton Town FC Community Trust will now be able to adapt these courses to hold them virtually. Families with children with a disability will be able to receive either printed or digital activity packs that provide 14 days’ worth of activity within, covering a range of inclusive football-based activities that they can then do from home with limited space. The activities will enable children to focus on a ‘personal best’ style approach where they will be challenged to improve on their own scores to help build confidence and resilience, as well as having lots of fun.
The free packs will be available to download from the Northampton Town FC Community Trust website in August. This will be complemented by a number of optional challenge days in August where Northampton Town Community Trust staff will be hosting live sessions via Zoom so there is interaction between different groups. For families who do not have access to equipment at home, a limited number of free equipment packs will be provided too (including footballs, cones etc). The funding will allow families with children with a disability to access the resource packs from across the county, all for free.
Russell Lewis, Disability & Inclusion Officer at the Northampton Town Community Trust said: “To receive funding from BBC Children in Need so that we can adapt our Disability Holiday Courses is brilliant, it means that we can carry on and give the participants some sort of routine over the summer, which is vital to a lot of them. We will be able to do this in a safe and secure environment and I look forward to welcoming them all and seeing them grow their skills as well as watching them grow as people."
BBC Children in Need relies on the generosity and creativity of the thousands of supporters and fundraisers who raise millions of pounds for the charity every year. To date the UK public has raised over £1 billion for children and young people facing disadvantage across the UK.
If you are interested in receiving a free inclusive holiday course resource pack, please visit the NTFC Community Trust website: at ntfccommunity.co.uk/disability-holiday-courses and enter your details.