An ambitious scheme to boost the reach and impact of youth charities in the West Midlands is to be rolled out to other parts of the country after being declared a huge success.

Thanks to Sport 4 Life UK’s ‘Impact Partnerships’ with The Inspire Group, Sports Key, Pat Benson Boxing Academy, Our Community Foundation and Solihull Moors Foundation, more than 300 youngsters have received transformative support to help them into sustainable education, training or employment.

Based in Digbeth’s Custard Factory, Sport 4 Life UK, which uses sport as a way of aiding personal development among people aged between 11 and 29, is now looking to expand the initiative across the nation.

Under the scheme, Sport 4 Life UK has provided personnel and expertise to enable its five partners to work with even more young people. This has included strategic planning, impact assessments, funding support and governance enhancements. The majority of partners have significantly increased their revenue, and all have benefited from - and implemented - key learnings and developments.

Speaking of Impact Partnerships, CEO Tom Clarke-Forrest said: “The success of the scheme marks a major milestone in Sport 4 Life’s growth and is a key part of our ambition to reach and help more young people nationally, while continuing to support thousands of members of the youth community in Birmingham and West Midlands.

“It’s been fantastic to see the five organisations we have been working with go from strength to strength as a result of the partnership - they’ve really demonstrated that this model of collaboration works. We’re hungry for growth as an organisation and we believe that one of the best ways we can do that is by empowering other like-minded organisations.”

Alex Howard at The Inspire Group, said: “There’s a great cultural alignment between The Inspire Group and Sport 4 Life UK and this is built on values and people.

“Over the past year, the partnership has enabled us to evolve our organisational skills in strategy and business development and better understand how to use these skills to serve the people who rely on our support.”

Sport 4 Life UK grows impact

Paddy Benson, at Pat Benson Boxing Academy, added: “Partnering with Sport 4 Life UK has been transformative for us. From invaluable guidance on governance to support in various aspects, their collaboration has been instrumental in our journey and we look forward to continuing this partnership and creating meaningful impact together.”

Sport 4 Life UK uses sport as a vehicle to achieve sustained education, training and employment outcomes for young people. Since its inception in 2006, it has grown into the leading sport-for-employability charity across the West Midlands, meaningfully supporting over 2,000 young people towards better futures each year.