StreetGames volunteering projects 

StreetGames volunteer projects have been set up in partnership with Closing the Gap, with the aim of recruiting and training young people to deliver sports sessions around Stoke on Trent. 

StreetGames is a national charity set up to develop sport in disadvantaged communities. The charity aims to make sport accessible to everyone by championing ‘doorstep’ sport. In partnership with Closing the Gap, two separate StreetGames volunteering projects have been set up in Stoke on Trent.

In the north of the city, 9 volunteers have  been recruited and trained in partnership with Port Vale Football Club. The scheme began early last year with the first phase of volunteers completing their Community Sports Leadership Award (CSLA) in September 07.  These young volunteers then set up two sessions in their local communities, engaging with disadvantaged groups of children, running for 10 weeks. The first session at Swan Bank Methodist Church offered multi-sports to young people from the local youth clubs, giving them the opportunities to try new sports like rugby, athletics and netball. The second session took place at Haywood High School and focused on young people from the Youth Inclusion Project. These young people exhibit challenging behaviour and/or have been excluded from school and enjoyed being able to play sport in a safe, warm environment instead of playing in the street.

Two Port Vale Sports Volunteers have now been granted money from the Premier League to help them set up and sustain sports projects for a period of 45 weeks. One session has already attracted 73 young people in 3 weeks who enjoy cricket and football coaching every Saturday at a local leisure centre. The other session, starting in June is a girl’s only football session offering 8 – 12 year olds the opportunity to develop their skills and confidence along side a female coach.

The second phase of the northern scheme, recruited 12 volunteers, 5 of whom will be setting up multi-sports sessions within the next few weeks. The first session will be held at a primary school in East Valley, aimed at providing diversionary activity for local young people aged 12 – 16. The second session will provide a boy’s group, who offer activities for boys aged 5 – 12 in the Ball Green area of Stoke, with football training for an hour every Wednesday evening.

The second StreetGames volunteering project is focused on the southern wards of Meir and Longton. The first group of 5 volunteers have recently completed their CSLA course in May and are aiming to set up sessions within their local communities in the next few months. A football session is being run as a combined effort by three volunteers at Crescent Play Area, aimed at offering young people in the area opportunities set up to offer girls, who are notoriously difficult to engage with through sport, the opportunity to get involved in their communities and off the streets. A street dance session which has to date 50 registered participants, is currently running in the south by a previous Closing the Gap volunteer. Two other sessions at Anchor Road in Longton and Stansmore Road in Meir are being piloted by Closing the Gap with a view for volunteers to take them on and make them sustainable.

Closing the Gap has also provided StreetGames themed Easter holiday activities for young people in the Meir, Chell and Packmoor areas of the city. The young people enjoyed activities such as basketball, tag rugby, football, street dance, boxing and outdoor pursuits over the two week period. The sessions were accessed by 70 young people from the designated wards.

For more information please contact Richard Shenton, Operations Officer on 01782 238871 or by emailing richard.shenton@tw2.stoke.gov.uk.