ReachOut! kids visit Fulham FC!

Children from De Beauvoir and St Matthias Primary Schools trekked across London on Monday morning with ReachOut! to far away Motspur Park. After an hour and a half on buses and trains they arrived at their destination, a gated compound deep in London suburbia. The children waited outside as the gates were opened and an array of people emerged to meet them – for this was none other than the training ground of Fulham Football Club, and the kids were attending a Fulham FC experience, courtesy of Barclays Wealth, one of the sponsors of the ReachOut! Soccer School. Passing through the car park, filled with Porsches, Audis and Range Rovers, the ReachOut! kids were given a Barclays t-shirt each and then whisked off to Fulham’s indoor astro pitch, set in an inflatable dome next to the first team training pitches. Catching glimpses of stars like Mark Schwarzer and Brede Hangeland as they passed, the children were ushered inside the dome for an hour of top football coaching from Fulham FC staff.
Over the next hour they were put through their paces by elite coaches, showing great skill and enthusiasm as they did their best to impress (always hoping to be scouted). Afterwards they were joined by Mark Hughes and Clint Dempsey for a question and answer session and shirt signing! The Fulham gaffer was in great form as he told the kids about his pride when asked to manage Wales and Clint Dempsey filled the kids in on what it takes for players to get scouted back home in the USA. After half an hour of questions and photos we filed back to the train station, tired but happy after a unique experience.
The boys had a great day, as did all the accompanying adults (see below!), and we wish Fulham, Mark and Clint all the best for the remainder of the season. Many thanks to Nick Whitbread, Kate Barber and everyone else at Barclays Wealth who gave the kids the chance to go to this event!

Peter Blackwell

ReachOut! Charity Cup 2011 a success!

Reachout! Charity Cup 2011 Tournament went again third year running which this year was on the 25th February 2011.

It was a very wild tournament this year, money became tight but not to worry - ReachOut! still got on with the job. As in previous years the young people took the spot light, doing all the jobs and organising most of the tournament.

The following young people really put the tournament on the road getting all the teams, venue, equipment and basically everything! So ReachOut! will like to thank: Connor Murphy, Nadir Abdullahi, Je’ray Nisbett, Rauf Mustapha, Semih Tuna and Mahmoud Sanni Oba. These boys have worked their socks off trying to make this the best tournament and not to lie it has been the best tournament the ReachOut! squad have made. The money they made is going towards a trip they are planning to go to Spain to reward them for the hard work they have done!

Another Big thanks to all the teams that participated in the tournament: Bloomberg (this year’s champions), ReachOut! Volunteers (runners up) Macquarie, Barclays Capital and ReachOut! Staff, the event was a huge success raising £2175!

ReachOut! would also like to thank Tesco Pret a Manger for their contribution towards refreshments and drinks but also a big thank you to Tesco express at hackney downs for putting in a little more and promoting the ReachOut! organisation. I will like to give a big thank you to Je’ray’s brother Jordan Nisbett for doing all the photography work and taking part of the tournament.

A big shout to ReachOut under 14a team for winning the ELE league. The boys worked so well throughout the whole way I bid well done and good luck for them in the future league they are going to be entering a new league soon so let wish the best for them!

Written by Nadir Abdullahi
ReachOut! Participant

Aged 14

ReachOut! target areas worst affected by Severe Child Poverty

Last month Save the Children published an eye-opening investigation into severe child poverty in the UK. Save the Children, a recognised leader in studies of this kind, published their findings following both national and local, authority-level research. The document makes for an interesting yet shocking read and highlights specific geographical areas where severe child poverty is most likely to be found. Tower Hamlets and Manchester were named as the most likely, with one in four children living in severe poverty and Hackney featured as the tenth.

The report offers recommendations to the government in its aim to tackle the problems. This includes a focus on improving education and reducing barriers to employment. They also mention children’s activities beyond their formal education, suggesting that a lack of outside school activity is ‘hitting their educational and social development and leaving them excluded from society’.

For an organisation that works to encourage confidence, self-esteem and raise aspirations among children, the report is particularly interesting. Operating within several of the most significantly affected areas and providing for the demographic featured by Save the Children, ReachOut!’s relevance could not have been better confirmed.

Source: Save the Children, Severe Child Poverty : Nationally and Locally (Feburary 2011) [http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/en/54_14969.htm]

Steph Pickerill