Events

The JRF dance group were the pride of everyone at the Foundation when they were asked to perform at the Pride of Brent Youth Awards 2021 Ceremony in August.

After hours of dance rehearsals in preparation for the community event the group put on a brilliant performance that thrilled the audience of Councillors, local people and organisations.

The Pride of Brent Youth Awards organised by Brent Council, “is about recognising and celebrating the outstanding achievements of the brilliant young people in our borough, and to celebrate those who have gone above and beyond to help their local community and support others in 2020-2021.” In 2020 the Jason Roberts Foundation was honoured to be nominated as one of the community groups that had been recognised for supporting the Brent community through the Covid-19 pandemic.

Shaq, the young pioneer leading the dance group had only recently started delivering dance coaching sessions with the JRF to develop young people in dance, expression, and movement, before the first National lockdown in March 2020. As restrictions gradually eased Shaq retained his regular Friday evening session, though online rather than in person. His dedication in delivering these dance classes via Zoom enabled Brent residents to keep fit and active during time spent at home.

The performance at Brent Town Hall was a great success and helped to make the Awards Ceremony a truly memorable occasion, thanks to the hard work and dedication of the organisers, and those working behind the scenes.

Patience one of the performers said, ‘At JRF we do sport, education, media, dance and pathways to employment. I take part in everything because opportunities in life sometimes are too good to miss.’

Shaquille, the dance group’s leader, added ‘ A lot of dancers were initially shy when the Friday sessions first started. But when we were told we had been chosen to perform at the ceremony it gave everyone a focus and helped to inspire them to believe that they had the ability to perform under pressure but still enjoy it. That’s exactly what they did and I’m so proud of them.’

The JRF Team couldn’t agree more.

A video of the performance can be viewed here https://vimeo.com/605429434

Shaq’s dance sessions are run on Friday’s starting at 7pm from the JRF Bridgestone Arena site.

The Jason Roberts Foundation are hosting a Careers Expo at Bridgestone Arena (formerly the Pavilion) NW10 8LW with the backdrop of the iconic Wembley Stadium on Wednesday 18^th August from 4.00 – 8.00 pm.

Young people aged 16 + will have the opportunity to come down and enjoy a range of sports activities including football, basketball, Teqball, and netball, and explore a range of career and training opportunities in a no-pressure environment.

Where careers and sport meet, the expo will host professionals from a range of industries, businesses, and large corporations to offer tips, advice, and information on Apprenticeships, internships, training programmes, and careers.

To open the gates towards their chosen career, this event is a great opportunity for young people to ask questions and gain insight from a range of local and national companies.

Please share with any young people aged 16 + who might be interested in attending this free event.

For business leaders and professionals – we still have spaces available if you would like to have a stand at the event. Please contact otis@jasonrobertsfoundation.org for more details.

The Jason Roberts Foundation were delighted to host The Ramadan Experience in collaboration with the Zesh Rehman Foundation on Wednesday 21^st April. The event, which aimed to give viewers a greater understanding into the correlation and transition from playing football and observing Ramadan, provided some great insight from former player Nathan Ellington, as well as current Chorley FC coach Irfan Kawri.

Online viewers were treated to the next generation of players attending as well, including, Zidane Iqbal (Manchester United), Harun Hamid (QPR), Yasin Arai (Stevenage), and Cheick Diabate (Exeter City). These additional guests spoke of their personal experience as players and how each of their clubs support them during Ramadan.

Irfan Kawri said: ‘I think it’s really important that we, as people from Muslim backgrounds act as good ambassadors, and we should be proud of our faith. There is a lot of talk around inclusivity, diversity and celebrating differences and we should all be proud of that and it gives people the opportunity to learn more about different faiths’

JRF is currently hosting the Ramadan Cup for those observing Ramadan, with the Zesh Rehman Foundation supporting people with training to better understand the experience of observing Ramadan, whilst playing sport.

The online discussion can be viewed via the following link https://vimeo.com/540564033

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