Premier League Kicks initiative supports hundreds of children

Premier League Kicks initiative supports hundreds of children

Successful Summer for Healthy Holidays Camps.

Throughout Summer 2021 the Leeds United Foundation supported hundreds of children through their Premier League Kicks Healthy Holidays initiative, providing interactive sessions around 300 food hampers to local families.

The multi-sport camps delivered as part of the programme took place at Meadowfield Primary School and Shakespeare Primary School, with a total attendance of 985 over the six-week period. There were also at least 150 children that attended at least one session during the holidays, with access to free packed lunches and food hampers to take home.

The aim of the programme is to provide opportunities for children to take part in different sports and activities, whilst also helping to tackle Holiday Hunger, an issue many families suffer with. There are currently three million children in the UK that are at risk of facing Holiday Hunger during half and full-term holidays.

During the sessions, aside from multi-sport activities, there are also a number of educational workshops delivered including support from West Yorkshire Police around subjects such as summer safety, grooming, exploitation and internet safety.

Gemma Sargeant, the Temple Newsam Community Partnership Cluster Manager, said: “The camps provided by the Leeds United Foundation this Summer have provided a fantastic opportunity for our most vulnerable children and families to participate in fun and engaging activities, which have had a positive impact on both physical and emotional health and wellbeing.

“The Leeds United Foundation have a proven track record of supporting our community when they need it most. The pandemic has brought with it a lot of challenges for children, young people and their families. Camps such as these in summer help to alleviate some of these difficulties, whilst also allowing children to simply have fun in a safe and supportive environment with coaches and staff that really care.

“I hope that our partnership continues to grow and develop and I look forward to working together in the years ahead.”

Rebecca Wilson, Deputy Headteacher at Shakespeare Primary School, added: “The Leeds United Foundation camps have been brilliant for so many reasons. They are free at the point of access, children and parents love them, and they have supported many children to remain healthy and active over the Summer.

“It has been great to see so many children excited about coming into school in the holidays and even better to see our site full of the noise of children running and playing. The provision of food hampers has also been instrumental to the support of some of our most vulnerable families over the holidays.”

Concluding, PC Poole from West Yorkshire Police, said: “The workshops I delivered for the Leeds United Foundation Healthy Holiday programme are really important in order to get key messages out to young people outside of school hours and when they are most vulnerable during the six weeks holidays. The content of the workshops was focused on the issues we frequently see in the area and are important for young people to be made aware.”

For more information about Healthy Holidays Camps, please contact Natalie Thomas via email natalie.thomas@leedsunited.com

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