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Awards & Grants

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In Awards & Grants

National Lottery funding from Sport England’s Community Emergency Fund

The Jason Roberts Foundation in Brent has been awarded £4836 of National Lottery funding from Sport England’s Community Emergency Fund towards retaining freelance staff and core operational costs during the on-going COVID-19 pandemic.

The outbreak of the virus and the consequent shutdown of businesses as of March 23 has left the sport and physical activity sector facing a period of uncertainty.

In response, on March 31 Sport England announced a £195m package to help the sport and physical activity sector through covid-19. Within the package is a £20m Community Emergency Fund, of National Lottery money to deliver immediate funding to those who have a role in supporting the nation to be active but are experiencing short-term financial hardship or the ceasing of operations due to the impact of coronavirus.

The grant will allow the Jason Roberts Foundation to maintain some freelance staff who are involved in initiatives to enable them to stay in touch with their participants during the current closure period via Podcasts and Vodcasts.  The grant will also cover some core operational costs including phones, utilities, insurance for the coming months.

Otis Roberts, Jason Roberts Foundation’s Chief Executive, said:

 “This grant from Sport England’s Community Emergency Fund has been a vital lifeline during this crisis which has enabled us to proactively find new ways to reach out and safely engage with our beneficiaries and their families. Without securing this funding we would not have been able to retain our core freelance staff to continue virtual engagement and to secure future funding for when we are able to resume our operations.”

Tim Hollingsworth, Sport England’s Chief Executive, said: 

“As the body responsible for the growth of sport and physical activity participation, we want the vital grassroots organisations that make sport and physical activity happen in this country to not just to come through this crisis but to be in a position to thrive again in the future. The £20m Community Emergency fund, made possible by National Lottery players is part of a multimillion pound package of support we are providing to ease the pressure on a huge number of the organisations who are central to the nation’s health and wellbeing.

“We are proud to be able to provide vital funding to the Jason Roberts Foundation to help it through these extremely challenging times.”

FLAdmin
In Awards & Grants

Jason Roberts Receives Honourary Doctor of Humane Letters

Jason has been awarded an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters Degree in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the provision of sporting events for disabled children in both Grenada and the UK.

The award is also in recognition of the partnership between the Jason Roberts Foundation, WINDREF and St. George’s University, which has involved many of their students in the philanthropic activities. The Honorary Degree will be presented to Jason at the School of Graduate Studies/School of Arts and Sciences Commencement Ceremony, where Jason will be the Commencement Speaker.

The Jason Roberts Foundation was formed in 2007, and in 2008 the Foundation expanded their work from not only providing able bodies with sports sessions, but also delivering sports sessions for people with disabilities. The disability programme extended to Grenada in 2010, and the Foundation started to partner with St. George’s University.

The aim of this partnership is to provide skill-sharing, support and long-term assistance to the teachers, staff and students of the three Special Educational Needs schools in Grenada that the Foundation has worked with over the last five years. Since 2012, they have in partnership hosted eight ‘Festival of Sports’ Days for children aged from 5-18 with a range of disabilities including; autism, Cerebral palsy, Downs Syndrome and other complex needs.

Jason Roberts MBE, Founder and Trustee of the Jason Roberts Foundation, said:

“I am extremely honoured to receive this Honorary Doctor on behalf of the work my Foundation has done in Grenada and the UK. Sport has a unique ability to transcend cultural and ethnic backgrounds, to motivate and to inspire.

“It gives me such pride to accept this award on behalf of all of the individuals and supporters who have given their time, resources and efforts to make other people’s lives a little bit better and I humbly accept this honourable doctorate in debt to them and my family who have supported me so much during this journey.”

Chancellor Charles R. Modica, said:

“This degree is being awarded to Mr. Jason Robert by the University in recognition of his outstanding contributions in empowering young people through sports”

Kevin Moulton, Jason Roberts Foundation’s Ambassador, Grenada, said;

“Through my almost 2 years in Grenada I have worked directly and indirectly with the organization to provide a structured Physical education structure for special needs children and several schools in Grenada.

“The work and structure that the Jason Roberts Foundation provides for the children truly took me by surprise when I first started volunteering. I was introduced to the organization when they came to Grenada and I was volunteering at the School for Special Needs in St Georges, Grenada.

“After my first experience I stayed in contact with the organization and every time that Jason and Otis came to Grenada I was eager to help out. Through personal hands on education with children and overall structure of programs, paired with the Ambassador program, the foundation provides an amazing experience for the children, volunteers and instructors alike.

“The personal education that the experience has provided for me as well as the children that this foundation impacts directly is immense. My experience through the organization will last with me forever and has provided myself with lifelong friends and a lifelong ally of the organization.”

Disabled people are known as ‘the world’s largest minority’. And it’s not by chance, the cost of living with a disability can increase household poverty, which means disability is not an issue limited to individuals. Exclusion and stigma, low incomes, and high costs of rehabilitation and care, all create a vicious circle that holds back not only individuals with impairments, but their families and children too.

There are several barriers that prevent disadvantaged young people from accessing positive sport related activities; these can range from lack of accessibility, lack of resources, discrimination and stigmatisation, a limit for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.

By integrating inclusive sports sessions within our mainstream delivery, we aim to break down some of the barriers and ensure that all young people get the opportunity to participate.