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On Thursday 24^th November JRF were asked to attend an Inspiration Session at Fore Street Library, to give a presentation on the Inspire to Achieve Heritage project to the Cultural Heritage Team at Enfield Council.

Otis Roberts, CEO of the Foundation, and Michael Adams who has delivered the “Find your Voice” Heritage sessions with children from local SEND schools, attended the event, along with guest speakers from other groups who are delivering heritage projects.

The Cultural Heritage Team approached the Foundation regarding their Inspire to Achieve Heritage project as they were aware of the positive impact the project has had on the local Brent community. As the team are currently developing a two-year programme, Untold Edmonton, to put the rich heritage of Edmonton on the map, they wanted to hear about cultural heritage projects that have demonstrated good practice, to inspire their community steering committee who will be overseeing the Untold Edmonton programme.

The Cultural Heritage Team were inspired by the work JRF has done with young people, documenting the unknown stories of African-Caribbean footballers in Brent.

The presentation by Otis and Michael, shared ideas with the community steering committee on delivering a Heritage project, and ways to involve the local community.

The talk highlighted the challenges as well as the successes, the evolvement of the project, and the impact it has had on the wider community.

Otis Roberts, CEO of JRF said; “The Foundation were delighted to be part of the consultation, and we have benefitted from being involved in such an inspiring project.”

On Sunday 20^th October the first phase of the Winter Go Green League came to a close, with teams competing at Bridgestone Arena for the winner’s trophy.

The Go Green League which was supported through funding from Wembley Park – Quintain’s 85-acre development in north-west London, consisted of 12 local teams who played in the tournament over a 7-week period.

The League was an idea borne by a group of local young men with the idea of bringing other young men together to compete in the football tournament whilst tackling mental health, environmental, and climate issues.

On the cold October evening bragging rights started at the press conference and after a hard-fought tournament, the Ziyad FC came out eventual winners.

The highlight of the tournament was the commitment of the participants and residents to tackling climate Issues. Old friends and the local community came together to support the initiative, with the day starting with a community clean-up in the Stonebridge ward. Within a relatively short space of time the social action group had collected a considerable amount of rubbish from local streets and green spaces, which highlighted the need for schemes like this.

An interactive workshop arranged by Ilaria Esposito from Start Easy was delivered with a mixture of age groups taking part and it was agreed that the community will look to do this on a weekly basis to keep their local neighbourhood cleaner and greener.

The Go Green League will continue, and further plans are in the pipeline to develop a similar League for the younger generation and women.

The JRF Inspire to Achieve Heritage project was supported, during the summer, by students from local Sports & Football Business University, UCFB based at the iconic Wembley Stadium.

The group of students, led by Jack Bibb an aspiring Sports Journalist, joined the founder of the JRF, Jason Roberts MBE, when he attended Capital City Academy last term for a Memory Café session, as part of JRF’s Heritage project.

Former West Brom, Wigan, and Blackburn striker Jason Roberts was interviewed by Jack, and spoke about his journey, his inspirations, and the obstacles he faced, as he forged a successful career as one of Brent’s Football pioneers.

The Inspire to Achieve Project, funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, thanks to Lottery players, gave the UCFB students an opportunity to gain much needed experience as part of their Degree coursework, and be part of creating local stories of sporting heritage for current and future generations.

As well as interviewing Jason directly, they also fielded questions from the audience of students, teachers, and local stakeholders at Capital City Academy, who were all eager to hear from the local sporting personality about his roots, and the changes he has seen in Brent over the years, on his recent return.

Jack Bibb said “I’m a Multimedia Sports Journalism student at UCFB’s Wembley Campus. The opportunity to work with Jason on behalf of the JRF Heritage Project was one that was too good to turn down and it was an insightful experience helping Jason tell the story of his Brent heritage to students from the local community.

UCFB provides lots of great opportunities, such as this one, and I thank the Foundation for being so welcoming also.”

Watch the video here https://vimeo.com/773268919

Note: Jack is pictured to the right of Jason in the photo

As the school gates close for the long summer holidays, the gates at Bridgestone Arena are opened as the Jason Roberts Foundation (JRF) kicks off their annual Summer Programme for the children and young people of Brent.

This year the action-packed agenda of sports, games, and activities started on Monday 25^th July and will run until the 26^th of August 2022.

With a range of sporting activities on the menu including basketball, tennis, badminton, golf, table tennis, boxing, football, cricket, and dance, as well as creative arts, and media training through the Cultural Media Centre, there is something for everyone.

Thanks to funding from Young Brent Foundation – One Flow One Brent, Hyde, Brent Council, and Karakusevic-Carson Architects, young people will also enjoy some away-days to try their hand at rowing and kayaking, amongst other excursions.

To keep young people active and engaged throughout their summer holidays there will be activities for different age groups and abilities.

From Monday to Thursday 12:00 – 4:00 pm children aged 5 – 16 years can enjoy all of the activities on offer and on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 5:00 – 9:30pm 16 – 25-year-olds are welcome to enjoy a range of sports. On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday’s from 12:00 – 2:00 pm children and young people with physical and learning disabilities will have dedicated coaches delivering some fun activities and games.

Otis Roberts, CEO at JRF said: “We are so grateful for the support these organisations and businesses provide to enable us to deliver these programmes for our children and young people. It ensures they have a safe place to go during the long summer holidays, where they can take part in sports and fun, affordable activities. Keeping fit, active, and healthy whilst having the opportunity to socialise with their friends and make new ones, and enjoy new experiences through our excursions is our aim for these children. Our summer is always extremely busy, but equally very rewarding for our staff, coaches, and volunteers to see how much the children enjoy themselves.”

JRF offer an open access programme of activities to ensure everyone can take part and no-one is excluded.

For more information regarding the summer programme email the JRF Team at info@jasonrobertsfoundation.org

The JRF Team were over the moon to receive a donation from a generous benefactor to purchase a minibus to support their work for the benefit of the local community.

The 14-seater minibus is a long-sought after attribute for the Foundation to aid the community outreach they do across Brent and will enable coaches and volunteers to be driven to different wards, parks, and green spaces across the borough to deliver sports sessions and community events.

The vehicle will complement some of the Foundation’s work and will enable participants of the JRF funded projects to be transported to Bridgestone Arena, the home of the Foundation since the launch in 2007, or to other venues for away-days, trips, and tournaments so they can experience other activities.

The London-based Architecture Practice (that has chosen to remain anonymous), was introduced to the Foundation and was impressed by the work they do in the local community. They supported some youth delivery over the summer with a donation, and subsequently chose to offer a larger donation to sponsor the purchase of the minibus.

Otis Roberts, CEO of the Foundation said; “The addition of this minibus will make a huge difference to our offer. It is something we have aspired to for several years but there are rarely funding opportunities available to purchase a capital asset of this value. We are very grateful to our sponsor for their kind and magnanimous support.”

Following the official launch in January 2021 of JRF’s new ‘Cultural Media Centre’ (CMC) situated at Bridgestone Arena, the home of the Foundation since its launch in 2007, JRF are thrilled to announce the launch of the CMC Website.

The newly created CMC website can be accessed directly https://cmc.jasonrobertsfoundation.com/ or via the JRF website www.jasonrobertsfoundation.com through the Media Centre at the top of the page.

The CMC was borne, in part, as a response to the ongoing pandemic and the need of the Foundation team to find creative ways to stay in contact with and continue to support their local community.

Equipment to resource the studio was funded through grants awarded to JRF from the London Community Response Fund and Trustees of Wembley National Stadium Trust, and the Edward Harvist Trust Fund, as well as donations and refurbishment by local firm C&C Builders Ltd.

The new CMC website will house all media output including podcasts, videos, events, and CMC Radio, and will cover areas including Careers, Education Environment, Health, Heritage, JRF Projects, Sport, The Arts, and Youth Voices.

The CMC provides a platform where “everyone has a voice” and offers a vital connection in these disconnected times, and the CMC website will enable those voices to be shared to a wider audience.

The Jason Roberts Foundation has recently featured in the 35th edition of the Professional Footballers Association (PFA) 4ThePlayer magazine.

In a four-page spread from pages 16 – 19, the article features an interview with JRF CEO Otis Roberts – Jason Robert’s Uncle and a former footballer – who talks about the journey over the last 14-years from when the charity was launched in 2007, up to today and the success in supporting marginalised communities in the borough of Brent and Grenada, in the Caribbean.

The PFA has been instrumental in ensuring the successful launch of the Foundation and the Community Team have been a source of information and support for more than a decade, working on several initiatives including sport, health, education, and careers.

The PFA Charity has recently awarded JRF with a grant to support the newly launched Inspire to Achieve Heritage Project (funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund), which will uncover the histories of Footballers who paved the way for current players.

The PFA helps any player who is interested in launching their own Player Foundation and the JRF team are grateful for their continued support.

If you would like to see a digital copy of the magazine, please contact martene@jasonrobertsfoundation.org and we will be happy to email this to you.

Earlier this year the JRF Team were pleased to add Tennis to the menu of sports on offer at Bridgestone Arena, thanks to two local ladies – Leeta Segalov and Mona Fine, and their love of the sport and desire to give back.

Leeta was introduced to the CEO of the Foundation, Otis Roberts, and with her background in tennis after starting to play in her 40’s and through coaching, improved her game to the level where she represented Great Britain in the 2015 Maccabi Games in Berlin, believed she could help to support JRF’s goal to add Tennis to their multi-sports offer.

Having lived for over 20 years only yards away from the community hub the Foundation operates from, Leeta knew that the JRF had great facilities including an all-purpose sports court marked for various games including tennis, which would allow for a Tennis programme, but also knew that JRF had limited resources to provide suitable equipment and trained coaches, including disability coaches, to deliver a quality programme.

Leeta therefore proactively reached out to her tennis contacts, friends, and family to raise much-needed funds to launch the Tennis programme by setting up a GoFundMe campaign https://gofund.me/2d5fb705. She quickly raised £6,000 towards the target of £12,000 which enabled tennis equipment to be bought, and the Tennis Programme to be launched by the end of May.

Leeta knows first-hand what it’s like to not have access to sports facilities and considers that she was lucky to be able to afford professional coaching when she wanted to improve her game. She recognises that not everyone has the same opportunities, saying; “ I firmly believe that Tennis including qualified coaching should be available to anyone who wants to play, not just to those fortunate enough to afford lessons, as well as the equipment. My goal, with the help of additional funding, is to give local children continuity of lessons and coaching and to roll this programme out to other grass roots sports clubs across Brent to enable more children and young people to benefit from the programme.”

Mona added; “After only 6-weeks of starting the Tennis programme which is available to children from 4-years upwards, we have been delighted by the enthusiastic response from the local community. The 45-minute sessions are already over-subscribed with over 50 children taking part on a regular basis. As such we have had to increase the number of sessions to 5-days a week to accommodate all the participants.”

In July, to tie in with the Men’s Single Finals at Wimbledon and to harness the excitement and passion of the game in young players on the Tennis programme, and their families, JRF hosted a family Wimbledon tea party at the community hub, which was enjoyed by everyone who attended, and was covered by The Voice newspaper.

During the recent JRF Summer of Fun holiday programme, Leeta and Mona delivered a Holiday Tennis Camp on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday mornings over the 5-week programme which was well received by the participating children. The Tennis Camp ended with a buffet lunch for all the children who attended, and they were each awarded with a JRF branded t-shirt with their names printed on the back.

Both Leeta and Mona have completed the LTA Level 1 coaching course and Mona took part in the emergency First Aid Course arranged by the Foundation.

The Tennis programme continues to grow with new participants joining each week and Leeta says; “We look forward to continued growth and putting more smiles on our children faces.”

If you would like to donate towards the Tennis Programme, please follow the link to Leeta’s Fundraising page GoFundMe, https://gofund.me/2d5fb705

The children and young people of Brent enjoyed an action-packed Summer of Fun at Bridgestone Arena over the school holidays, thanks to a programme of activities delivered by the JRF in partnership with Connect Stars.

With a range of sporting activities on the menu including basketball, tennis, badminton, table tennis, football, teqball, and dance, as well as away-days for some lucky children to try their hand at kayaking, the young people of Brent were kept active and engaged throughout their summer holidays.

The summer programme, funded by Hyde, received additional support this year from the Holiday & Activities Fund (HAF) Brent, Young Brent Foundation – One Flow One Brent, and the Greencore Group Plc.  Thanks to this additional funding and generous donations, the children were fuelled up with healthy lunches and water to ensure they had the energy to enjoy all the sporting activities on offer.

Martene Carroll, Business Development Manager at JRF said: “We are so grateful for the support these organisations and businesses provide to enable us to deliver these programmes. It’s vital that our children and young people have a safe place to go during the long summer holidays, where they can take part in fun and affordable activities. It has been an extremely busy summer, but it is always so rewarding when we see how much the children enjoy themselves.”

Over 200 children took part in the 5-week summer programme which closed with an Olympics Day Special of sporting and recreational activities, including an inflatable slide, to mark both the end of the 2021 Summer of Fun programme as well as the end of the official Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.

To see an overview of the Summer of Fun programme in action click here https://vimeo.com/600993716