Foundation pay visit to Grow Zone project

Foundation pay visit to Grow Zone project

Foundation staff pay visit to gardening project a year after making a donation to support the initiative.

In July 2018 the Leeds United Foundation made a donation of over £1,500 worth of gardening tools and vouchers to support local disabled students with a project called the ‘Grow Zone.’

The youngsters from Brigshaw High School, that suffer from a variety of disabilities, have been working together on a gardening initiative over the past year to develop a special area for the local community on a plot of land at Kippax Allotments on Gibson Lane, as well as working to make the plot more accessible to any students who are in wheelchairs.

Coaches from the club’s official charity paid a visit to the allotment recently to check on the progress they’ve made and it was clear to see the hard work and determination that had gone into creating and developing the space into an area the pupils could be proud of.

Anthony Hall, Disability Officer at the Leeds United Foundation, said: “Through a partnership with the Special Inclusive Learning Centres the Foundation has been working with Brigshaw High School on a number of projects but particularly with this programme it has been amazing to see the work they have put in over the past year and it’s great that we were able to support them and help make it achievable.

“Working with these learners it’s all about supporting them and getting them out in the community. They’ve made the area really accessible for wheelchair users meaning all of their peers can now use the area which is fantastic – they should all be really proud of that and of all the work they’ve done on this project.”

The initiative was introduced to give the students something they could create together from start to finish, giving them the chance to learn new skills and information and eventually give them a place they could spend time at with their friends and family, even after they've left school.

Lauren Kerr, one of the teacher’s at Brigshaw High School that works with the pupils every day, added: “This has been such a fantastic project for our students to work on over the past year; it’s a real sense of accomplishment for the children that they’ve been able to have an input into their local community. It’s not just a space for us and our students but we’ve made it for other schools to use and for anybody who just wants to visit.

“Without the support from the Foundation and from the club this wouldn’t have been possible, not only have they helped with funding for the building of the project but also helping us buy our tools, the spades etc. so without their support it wouldn’t have been possible and it’s just made that link we have with Leeds United even stronger.”

Yosuke Ideguchi

Yosuke Ideguchi

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