For me, a new year will mark a chance to catch up with some old friends, as I once again team up with the good people at the Jason Roberts Foundation.

Jason’s charity, founded in 2007, has been hand-picked as one of 33 community clubs in London by leading Sport for Development charity, Sported, to receive a grant to fund their new Aspire programme.

Aspire will engage young people aged 11 – 18 who are at risk of exclusion from school, or who have become disengaged from learning and are at risk of falling into the category of NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training).  My clients as well as my family and friends will tell you that I have a passion for the challenges and rewards that working with these groups of young people can bring.

By combining sports activities with education and mentoring opportunities, the Jason Roberts Foundation hopes that the young participants on the Aspire programme will gain increased levels of academic achievement, improved attitudes to learning and employment, and will develop their confidence, self-esteem and aspirations for the future along the way during their participation.

I am delighted to be working on this project for young people, and indeed to be back working with Jason, Otis and the team at the Foundation once again, as they look to provide opportunity and support for young people in one of London’s most deprived boroughs. I hope that through my involvement in creating a range of bespoke education and employability materials, and through supporting their team of staff and volunteers with a range of mentoring ideas and training, that I can be a part of the fantastic outcomes that I know the Jason Roberts Foundation will go on to achieve with their young people.

For details of some of my earlier work with the Jason Roberts Foundation, please see both the Testimonials page and the Articles page of my website.