Local charity YMCA Plymouth has announced their huge appreciation to the Plymouth community who collectively helped raise over £12,000 through the Co-op’s community fund, for its disability sport project ‘YMCA Inclusive’ this year.
The charity says the funding is a huge boost to a relatively small club with big ambitions. Centre Manager Stacy Ferris said:
“We were really surprised with the response we had from local co-op members, many of which chose our project as their cause. We’d like to say a big thank you to everyone that backed us! These funds will make a real difference to the many young people that access the inclusive clubs we run at our centre.”
Funding was raised through the Co-op community fund which allows co-op members to choose a local cause to donate 1% from the purchase of their co-op branded products when they swipe their members card at the checkout. The scheme is eligible for local charities and organisations and has raised £19 million nationwide since November 2017. YMCA’s Inclusive project runs each week offering sports opportunities to young people aged 8-16 with a spectrum of additional needs such as cerebral palsy and autism. The club includes various activities such as trampolining, climbing, football and many more. Sessions are led by specialist staff and aim to provide a fun and safe environment for participants to gain the benefits of sport where they may otherwise be unable.
Talking about the difference the funding will make to the project, Arran Sturrock, Inclusive Coordinator at YMCA Plymouth says,
“Currently we’re in need of new sports equipment as much of what we have is becoming very worn. This funding will contribute towards that, as well as specialist training for our many dedicated volunteers that support the club. Originally the project was funded by Sport England, however this ceased 12 months ago, nevertheless the YMCA has been committed to continuing the project for the many families that take advantage of the club, which is why support like this is so vital to sustaining the project.”
The club has now been awarded another year with the Co-op scheme and YMCA Plymouth is once again inviting members to back the project to help with their next goal. Stacey said:
“Unfortunately last year we had to scale back one of our multi-sport sessions to once a month rather than once a week, but we really want to bring it back to a weekly session. Consistency is very important for many of our young people, especially those with learning disabilities, therefore having a weekly club is extremely beneficial for those individuals. With the help of the local community once again who have been so supportive to us so far we’re hopeful we can now reach this new target.”
To find out more about YMCA Inclusive, or join in their sessions, visit: ymcaplymouth.org.uk/inclusive or contact Arran Sturrock at arran.s@ymcaplymouth.org.uk
