Events

On Thursday 29^th August JRF continued their ‘Legends Series’ and this month they were joined by local Brent born, Chris Munro the man behind the sound of over 130 movies that have hit the big screen over two decades,

Music man Chris, who has worked with Directors such as Steven Spielberg, Ridley Scott, and Ron Howard, returned to his roots for an evening at Harlesden Library.

The Oscar award winning former Cardinal Hinsley pupil reflected on his early days and the journey from Harlesden to Hollywood for the local audience.

He has worked on five James Bond Films including ‘Casino Royale’ which he considers to be Daniel Craig’s best Bond film, and three ‘Mission Impossible’ films where he demonstrated how they manage to capture Tom Cruise’s voice over the action sounds including the helicopter.

His last film ‘Bob Marley’ was spoken about, and timing was apt as there is currently a Reggae exhibition at the library until October.

One of the younger members of the audience took to the stage and asked the man of the moment how long it took for him to accomplish his dreams. Chris answered that he still has dreams, and he thinks it’s really important that we all have dreams.

He went on to say; “There’s always got to be another dream, and the most important thing is to be the best at each stage of that dream. So, when you feel you are the best at what you are doing, move on to another goal.”

Prior to travelling to the library, Chris took in a tour of the local area, including a visit to his former home reminiscing on the changes he has seen over the years.

His former classmates were also on attendance and found out a lot more about their good friend and how he became a leading figure in sound production.

After the event Chris took time out to give valuable advice about a future career in the industry to one of JRF’s volunteers and media trainee Marley.

On Monday 26^th August Bakkavor Meals London were back at Bridgestone Arena for their 4^th Annual Cricket Event in aid of the Jason Roberts Foundation. Over the last three years Bakkavor has raised an amazing £20,000 to support the work of the charity.

The ever-popular Cricket Tournament was followed by a football match, a competitive but fun tug-of-war, and multiple other games, which all helped to add to the joyous family occasion filled with laughter, competition, and community.

The raffle which is held each year towards the end of the day of sport, saw fantastic prizes won with gasps of excitement all round and the scenes when the cricket and football trophies were handed out deserved a bigger stage.

JRF staff and volunteers were on hand to support the occasion and soak up the atmosphere.

The JRF team and Trustees extend thanks to the social value award winning Bakkavor Meals London for their continued support and assistance throughout the years and look forward to many more collaborative initiatives.

Otis Roberts, CEO of JRF commented; “What a wonderful day! It was great to see a company and staff teams all come out on Bank Holiday and pull together for a common goal. Working with Bakkavor is an absolute pleasure as always and we continue to see the annual event go from strength to strength.”

More information:

If you are a Company that would like to raise funds to support the work of JRF by hosting an event at Bridgestone Arena please contact CEO Otis Roberts on otis@jasonrobertsfoundation.org or Business Development Manager Martene Carroll on martene@jasonrobertsfoundation.org

About Bakkavor Meals:

We are the leading provider of fresh prepared food (“FPF”) and put the customer at the heart of what we do.
c.18,000 colleagues operate from 43 sites to develop and produce innovative FPF for a wide variety of occasions and budgets.
Our customers include all the well-known UK grocery retailers as well as some of the world’s best-known international food brands.
Our deep understanding of consumers’ changing needs enables us to create innovative products for our customers around the world.

Photo Credit

@Tobie Charlton

On Thursday 22^nd August nine local organisations came together to compete in JRF’s inaugural Social Value Cup Tournament, helping to raise funds for the Foundation to support their work in the local community.

Eleven teams made up of colleagues from companies including BCS Consultancy, ESG, Eversleigh LLP, Glencar who entered three teams including one sponsored by Ealing Studios, Howdens, Hyde Housing whose team was sponsored by Jackson Lifts, LMOB, and Wates, competed against a JRF team made up of some former professional footballers including JRF CEO Otis Roberts, the Stein brothers – Brian, Edwin, and Mark, and former QPR quartet Richard Langley, DJ Campbell, Marcus Bean, and Kieron St Aimie, as well as a youth team of 17-18-year-olds who made a good account of themselves.

All teams were supported by colleagues and family members with a crowd of over 275 cheerleaders, and youth coaches and volunteers from the Foundation coordinated the event.

Howdens the UK’s Number 1 Trade Kitchen Supplier were overall winners of the tournament. Howdens were one of three local companies who supported the recent installation of a new community kitchen at Bridgestone Arena.

Otis Roberts said of the day; “What fantastic inclusion from these companies that are committed to helping organisations such as ours. We are truly grateful, and we look forward to working with you all in the future as we serve the local community. Can’t wait till the next one!”

The August sun shone throughout the event which proved to be a friendly but competitive tournament with the companies pitting their wits against each other in a bid to carry home the Social Value Cup.

Everyone celebrated their combined efforts and the glory of the winning team, Howdens whilst enjoying refreshments which were kindly sponsored by the Breyer Group, into the early evening.

More information:

If you are a Company that would like to raise funds to support the work of JRF by hosting an event at Bridgestone Arena please contact CEO Otis Roberts on otis@jasonrobertsfoundation.org or Business Development Manager Martene Carroll on martene@jasonrobertsfoundation.org

Website links to the competing Teams & Sponsor:

BCS Consultancy – https://bcsconsultancy.com/

The Breyer Group – https://www.breyergroup.co.uk/

ESG Limited – https://esglimited.com/

Eversleigh LLP – https://eversleighllp.com/

Glencar – https://glencar.com/

Howdens – https://www.howdens.com/

Hyde Housing – https://www.hyde-housing.co.uk/

Jackson Lifts – https://www.jacksonlifts.com/

LMOB Electrical Contractors – www.lmob.co.uk

Wates – https://www.wates.co.uk/

Photo credit:

@Laurie Rampling

On Sunday 18^th August JRF hosted a ‘Community first’ intergenerational event at Bridgestone Arena which provided the local community with a fun day of sport including tennis, table tennis, and walking football, health, well-being, and family activities such as a bouncy castle, music, and refreshments. The community celebration was supported through Hyde Charitable Trust’s Surprise Fund.

Over 500 residents of all ages attended the event where JRF Founder Jason Roberts, MBE attended as a special guest.

Nuffield Health the UK’s largest healthcare charity, partnered with the Foundation on health initiatives including health checks and nutrition advice.

International German doner kebab company GDK sponsored the football tournament on the day as part of JRF’s ‘Heads-up’ programme to be launched this month.

The competition for 16 – 18-year-olds was organised by young JRF coaches and volunteers, was watched by the attending crowd and Jason and recording artist Akala. The top two winning teams were treated afterwards to snack boxes and refreshments at GDK in Willesden.

In the evening, the community heard from and celebrated the local DJs who contributed so much to music locally, regionally, and internationally. JB international, Chukki Starr, reggae artist and DJ Bushman talked about their life, career journeys, and music experiences through until 11:00pm.

Before the awards for winning team and player of the match were handed out, Jason addressed the young players who competed; “Thank you all for coming, staying, and taking part. I see a lot of you playing football and the reason we’re able to do that is because of the support of organsations like GDK.”

He went on to say to the young people who managed the event; “I want to big up Isco and his team for organising the tournament. If people like you, us (JRF), and companies like GDK don’t do these things for the local community, no one is going to. This is how I learnt to play football thanks to the support of local companies and people like you, so thank you very much.”

Sunday 21^st April 2024

As part of JRF’s ongoing Legend Series – an ‘Inspire 2 Achieve’ Heritage Legacy initiative, Jamie Lawrence was the latest Premier League star to visit the borough of Brent on Sunday 21^st April.

Jamie’s story is well documented on how he lost his way as teenager and ended up on the wrong side of the law before a prison governor took a chance on him and gave him the opportunity to pursue his dream whilst he was incarcerated.

Jamie dropped in to the Bridgestone Arena to share his experiences and candidly discussed the ups and downs he has experienced through life with local community members and young people.

The day kicked off with a fitness training session on the pitch followed by a tournament which was organised by a group of young footballers. Over refreshments over 80 young people participated in the interactive Q&A session with Jamie before resuming their continued professional development training with the Coach Development Team from the Football Association.

Photo credit © amanda rose