Charity Sports Challenge
Fundraising frenzy grants £80k to grass roots sports clubs
Children’s Football, Diving, Dancing, Taekwondo and Skating clubs across South Yorkshire are celebrating a share of an £80,000 grant fund raised from the Cash for Kids Charity Sports Challenge.
The funds have been granted to nine local clubs helping children from low-income families and disadvantaged backgrounds, which will be spent on kit, equipment, facilities and subsidising costs to increase participation in grass roots sports.
The fundraising challenge was initiated by Hallam FM’s Cash for Kids charity and is supported by fellow charity, the Sheffield & Hallamshire County FA and SIV, Sheffield’s health and wellbeing charity.
Calum Oakenfold, Marketing and Communications Officer (SHCFA) added: "This was a great project to be part of to support local sports clubs and help them develop fundraising techniques that will help them sustain and increase income in the future. The clubs that took part demonstrated excellent initiatives and the amount of funds raised were incredible. The grants and rewards included by Hallam FM and SIV also meant that the total money raised from the project will give each club significant financial support going forward."
Hundreds of children from the clubs have been invited to The English Institute of Sport in Sheffield, the training base for World Heavyweight Boxing Champion Anthony Joshua, on Friday July 20 to receive their grants at a celebration ceremony organised by the charities.
Renishaw Rangers FC, MDS Beighton Falcons FC, City of Sheffield Diving Club, Maltby Main JFC, Sheffield Synchronised Skating Academy, Accent28 Dance Academy, Dearne and District JFC, Ravenfield Rangers JFC and SWAT Taekwondo Academy, all based across South Yorkshire, were selected for the competition.
Each group held various events, sponsored activities and gained support from local businesses in their communities throughout the duration of this summer’s Football World Cup. The money they raised added to the original grant fund of £27,000, nearly trebling the expected investment.
The Charity Sports Challenge also helped educate the clubs on marketing and fundraising to provide long term sustainability. The financial gain from the clubs also provides opportunities to develop volunteers and increased participation provides better health benefits and raised aspirations for disadvantaged young people.
Additional prizes of £500 were offered to the teams to boost the size of their grants for those that demonstrated the best teamwork, social media use and fundraising idea.