No child left on the sidelines - Region's 5 foundations including Foundation of Light to make sport accessible for all

With the North East officially the first region in the UK to be named as a Region of Sport, the Foundation of Light, Newcastle United Foundation, Durham Cricket Foundation, Eagles Community Foundation, and Newcastle Rugby Foundation all gathered at the Beacon of Light to launch the campaign.

For the first time, all of the region’s sporting foundations will now work together to provide sports activities for hundreds of children in the region to support them with the best start in life, regardless of their background.

The year long fundraising campaign will take centre stage at the Wear-Tyne Derby on the December 14, and any money raised will fund free places on holiday courses and free school sports sessions.

Attending the event and taking part in some of the sessions with the children was SAFC Women’s team full back Louise Griffiths.

Louise said: “I think it’s a great initiative to get more kids involved in sport, particularly from disadvantaged backgrounds, and the derby game coming up will provide a great platform.

“It’s really important that sport should be available to everyone as it not only helps with physical wellbeing but also mental wellbeing.”

Durham County Cricket Club also had coaches at the launch event.

The club’s Foundation CEO Graeme Weeks said: “It’s very important for all five of the sports foundations to comer together because it’s too easy to work in isolation and compete against each other - which is not what we should be doing.

“We all want to achieve the same thing, which is an equal opportunity for children to get involved in sport.

“We need to make sport accessible for everyone. We can’t just have situation where children can attend if they have the money to do so. It’s our responsibility to ensure children get the opportunity to try as many different sports as possible.”

Also there to support the event was the North East mayor, Kim McGuinness who said: “We’re famous for our love of sport in the North East and so I want every single child to have the chance to get involved. Sport is so much more than just getting young people active, it’s about building confidence, giving them the opportunity to try something new and unlocking talents they never knew they had.”

Lesley Spuhler, Foundation of Light Chief Executive, added: “Sport has the power to change lives, and by joining forces across the North East we can make sure every child has the chance to experience that.

“Together Through Sport is about breaking down barriers and opening up opportunities, ensuring no young person is left watching from the sidelines.”

The idea to get the region’s main sporting club’s foundations working together came from the North East Housing Partnership (NEHP) to which Gentoo - Sunderland’s main housing association - belongs.

Gentoo CEO Louise Bassett said: “We are one of 17 housing associations across the North East and we wanted to collaborate together to invest in sports and culture activities for young people. So we worked with the Foundation of Light initially to see what the possibilities were. From there, all the foundations got together with North East Combined Authority to bring this initiative together today.”