sported. announces the award of its first grant in Yorkshire

sported. is pleased to announce that it has awarded its first grant in Yorkshire and the Humber since officially launching the charity in the region this June. sported. has been working with a number of projects that use sport to improve the lives of young people.

sported. is the leading charity in the UK supporting the sport for development sector, both in terms of championing the benefits of grassroots sports for personal and social development, and by offering services to the organisations and projects within it. These include one-to-one mentor support, several grant programmes and wider member support services.

The first project to have been awarded funding is Leeds Interfaith Sports Project. sported. has awarded £9200 to the project which uses sport to develop local communities throughout Leeds by using sport as a tool for overcoming local barriers often created through isolation. The project has been through a period of transition and is now in in a position to expand its services through the additional capacity it has secured by providing funds for recruitment.

Launched in 2008 the project has demonstrated how powerful sport is at breaking down barriers within different communities, and the project's goal is to build on this learning , build further partnerships and develop wider opportunities to engage even more young people through sport.

Paul Steele, Regional Manager for sported. in Yorkshire and the Humber commented: "It is a great pleasure to be announcing this award for Leeds Interfaith Sports Project. I have worked with the key drivers of the project for a number of months and the passion, drive and commitment they have demonstrated has been overwhelming. It is also rewarding to be able to financially support organisations, many of which are now finding it more and more difficult to source vital funds for local projects"

Keith Ackerman from the Leeds Interfaith Sports Project commented "We are thrilled to be given this funding from sported.. It will enable us to continue and develop our work; using sport to bring together young people from different faith communities, encouraging dialogue which helps to break down barriers, dispel myths and stereotypes and build positive relationships. The funding will enable us to put the structures in place to develop new links with more communities within the Leeds city region and to work with a wider range of sports. We will also be able to look at ways of generating income so as to secure the long term future of our work".

The project is keen to work in partnership with other organisations from the commercial and community sector in order to harness the power that sport can bring to the development of local communities.

sported. is encouraging more voluntary and community organisations that use sport and physical activity to apply for free membership thorugh our website or contact your Regional Manager Paul Steele, 07900928600, p.steele@sported.org.uk.