Sport 4 Life UK is a Birmingham-based charity that has been working with disadvantaged young people since 2006. We empower young people aged 11-29 across the West Midlands to reach their potential by providing the skills, qualifications and support needed to find work and shape successful futures. Sport is at the heart of everything we do - not as an add-on, but as the hook that gets young people through the door and the structured activity that helps them build confidence, connect with peers and regulate their emotions.
Thanks to a £5,000 grant from The Pixel Fund, we will deliver free-to-access community sport and tailored mentoring for 11-18 year-olds across some of Birmingham's most deprived communities. The grant funds Youth Mentors delivering tailored one-to-one wellbeing mentoring, and a Sports Trainer coordinating free weekly sport sessions that create safe, structured routines at times when young people are most at risk of social isolation. Every young person receives a personalised wellbeing plan, with progress tracked from the outset.
The young people we work with face real and compounding challenges. In Birmingham, 51% of children under 16 live in the 10% most deprived areas in England. Anxiety, low confidence and limited access to positive activities are daily realities for many of them. We know that sport works: last year, 1,448 young people supported by S4L improved their wellbeing. With The Pixel Fund's support, we will reach more of the young people who need us most and give them trusted adults, positive peers and the practical tools to thrive.