Events

Tuesday 23^rd March 2021

During what has proven to be a challenging and difficult 12+ months, the Jason Roberts Foundation (JRF) has worked hard to ensure our most vulnerable children and young people continue to be engaged in physical activities, games, and sport, and to say to their families – You are not alone.

Thanks to our Funders including WNST, Baily Thomas Charitable Fund, Sport England through the Young Brent Foundation, CAF Resilience Fund, and City Bridge Trust, the Foundation have loaned families items of equipment such as small trampolines and sensory games, and over the last few months we have invited families to the centre on a 1-2-1 basis to take part in outside sports and games together, as a family.

JRF, in collaboration with the Cultural Media Centre, were pleased to host an online SEND conference for parents, carers, siblings, SEN schools and organisations, local Councillors, and our Funders as part of the You Are Not Alone series.

Thursday 4^th March 2021

The Jason Roberts Foundation were delighted to be working with former Leicester and Bradford City player Jamie Lawrence once again as the hugely popular figure fielded questions from a special online audience about current topics, including, Youth Violence, Health, Resilience, and the Pandemic.

The evening was extremely well attended and included questions from leader of Brent Council Cllr Muhammed Butt and the Mayor of Brent. Jason Roberts was also on hand to pay homage to Jamie and the fantastic work that he has continued to do after his playing career and most notably during the pandemic itself.

Throughout the evening, Jamie’s humility shone through notably when he said, “A lot of people have lost their lives, but we have to be grateful that we are here now and present. When we went into lockdown, I wanted to come out of it in a positive vein and come out stronger and fitter. I’ve tried to make the most of my time and any young person or adult in this time, needs to make the most of what they are going through, you can’t sit around and feel sorry for yourself, we will come out of it, and we need to ensure that we continue to engage.”

The event was part of the successful ongoing series ‘The Player, The Man’ hosted by the Foundation, in which former guests have included Emile Heskey, Michael Thomas and Andrew Cole. Jamie’s appearance like previous guests before him was so popular that the event overran and demonstrated the influence that these former players have and continue to have.

Otis Roberts, CEO of the Foundation added, ‘It is always a pleasure to have so many different people attending our online discussions and events. We hope that the range of topics the players have so openly discussed have benefited the local and wider community, through these challenging times.”

If you missed out on the event, it can be accessed via the following link https://vimeo.com/534789629

The JRF are delighted to announce one of the latest initiatives being delivered from the community organisation, a FREE Female Football Referee Taster Session.

The Session which is taking place on Saturday 20th March at 3pm (UK Time) is offering participants the opportunity to gain a greater insight into refereeing and the methods used in the game, which includes best practise examples, as well as understanding the referee pathway.

This course is not just for aspiring referees, it is also for those people who are players, that possibly want a greater understanding of decision making within the game. or even supporters that are keen to gain insight into the matchday procedures and actions being taken by match officials.

The Female Referee Taster Session is the first of its kind and the Foundation are delighted to support Jawahir Roble on this initiative as she leads the session, demonstrating her passion and experience, as well as having special guests to help field questions from the participants on the course.

The event which is free for all females to attend can be accessed via the link below and can be viewed on either YouTube or Facebook Live.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9QxtPyA8Vk

The Jason Roberts Foundation and Jawahir Roble hope to see you there and enjoy the experience of expanding your knowledge on the game.

JRF are pleased to announce their first Digital Careers Fair broadcasting live on Wednesday 25^th November.

The event, which will be aired via StreamYard, will be hosted by Jo Tongue – CEO of Tongue Tied Management and Trustee of JRF, with guests on this first panel from a range of industries and fields including Network Rail, the Royal Air Force, St. George Property Developers, University Campus of Football Business (UCFB), and Brent Works.

For a few years JRF has delivered programmes of support involving life skills, education, training, and career opportunities within their multi-sports activities, and have hosted several Careers Fairs to benefit their young participants.

With the COVID-19 pandemic impacting people’s livelihoods with businesses closing, job losses, income reduction, and future ambitions  put on hold, JRF felt this was a crucial time to forge ahead with the Careers element of their programmes.

Otis Roberts, CEO of JRF said, “We understand how this ongoing crisis is affecting peoples lives, with their ability to earn a decent living a primary concern for many. For our young people, the future is uncertain and plans they had in place at the start of this year, may be on hold, or no longer viable.”

He went on to say. “The pandemic has had a bearing on how many people are reviewing their current situation, and might be considering a different career pathway, retraining, furthering their education, or setting up their own business. With no upper age limit on some Apprenticeships now, it’s never too late to pursue new opportunities. We wanted to provide a platform where people can access information that is relevant to their future plans.”

The first event will be streamed from 6pm next Wednesday and information on how to access the broadcast will be updated on JRF’s social media platforms – Twitter, Instagram, Facebook @JasonRobertsFdn