Rotherham United Community Sports Trust has received vital funding towards a project that is dedicated to help reduce anti-social behaviour among young people.
The Great Millers Youth Forum, which works in association with the Rotherham United Community Sports Trust (RUCST) received a grant of £1,500, made up in equal parts from the UK Steel Enterprise Charitable Fund and the AESSEAL Charitable Trust Community First Endowment Fund for South Yorkshire. The funds are being used to support a football training project that helps young people between the ages of 16 and 24 to engage in activities that can develop social skills and increase health and wellbeing.Mused Salem from the Forum says that the funding is critical for a number of reasons. “The areas we work in have some of the most disengaged young people living in high unemployment areas of Rotherham. They have little to do in the area and can easily get into anti-social behaviour, which causes problems in the community. We had complaints about youths playing football on a shopping area car park so we thought, why not organise something constructive nearby to bring them together? Without the funding from UK Steel and AESSEAL we simply could not run the twice weekly sessions which are already seeing improvements in community relations in Rotherham. The financial support is superb and we really appreciate it.”
The group runs twice weekly football sessions at Winterhill School in Kimberworth where it makes use of an inflatable football pitch provided by RUCST, which helps to attract young people to engage with the project. The sessions are run, with assistance from RUCST football coaches, for a period of ten weeks covering the summer holidays; a key time of the year where anti-social behaviour can increase and cause community problems.
UK Steel Enterprise Ltd is a subsidiary of Tata Steel that invests up to £750,000 in growing businesses within the South Yorkshire area. It also has the Charitable Fund that is managed by South Yorkshire Community Foundation, which supports community based organisations that help to make a positive difference within areas that have been affected by the changes to the UK’s steel industry.
Keith Williams, Regional Manager for UK Steel Enterprise says that the Forum is playing a key role in trying to get potentially disengaged young people to look at productive uses of their time.
“This project benefits young people by engaging them in a community based sport right on their doorstep. The benefits of sport and organised activities are clear and such initiatives help improve relationships between young people and older residents in the neighbourhood. Young people can also be signposted to other services providing information on education and training, to improve their employment prospects.”
Sue Wragg, Fund Manager for South Yorkshire Community Foundation said; “The Forum project interacts with young people in a way that provides an opportunity to talk to them about aspirations and improving their potential. We have been working with UK Steel Enterprise for several years, in which time we have delivered much needed funding to our local communities. These projects help to regenerate our local communities and we are very grateful for the support from UK Steel and AESSEAL.”
For more information contact:
Mark Cummins,
Inclusion and Health Officer
Telephone: 01709 827767
Mobile: 07852494945
Email: mcummins@rotherhamunited.net
Twitter: @RU_CST
Visit www.rucst.co.uk for more information on Rotherham United Community Sports Trust