The Sport for Change Initiative funded by Yorkshire Sport Foundation and the South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner, Dr Alan Billings, are proud to announce that they have now awarded £42,000 to over 50 sport initiated projects across South Yorkshire.

The £42,000 funding which was also supplemented by the FK Group will provide 900 hours of activities for up to 2,000 young people.

Westfield Big Local in Sheffield has been awarded £1,000 to provide a range of activities to inspire young people.  Their scheme will deliver 12 sessions and hopes to engage with over 40 young people in a safe environment.

In Doncaster, Flying Futures secured £1,880 to work with young people in Mexborough, Conisbrough & Denaby on Friday and Wednesday evenings from 5.30pm to 7.30pm.  Young people are encouraged to come along and get involved in football, cricket and multi sports.

Organisations across the county have been successful with the YMCA in Barnsley receiving £998.  The funding will provide sport and activity sessions around the Barnsley Central Ward in a bid to reduce anti-social behaviour and give young people something to do.

Team Katalyst based on Mangham Road, Rotherham will be using the £350 funding to provide an introduction to Parkour and Free running to 60 young people on Wednesday’s 6pm to 8pm starting on the 27 July.

Dr Alan Billings said: “It is very encouraging to see how the funding I provided to Yorkshire Sport Foundation has been match funded by them and shared out over 50 projects across Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield.

“I hope the young people enjoy their time at the sporting projects throughout the summer.  Although not everyone has the intention of causing mischief throughout the school break, we do understand that many will be bored and looking for things to do.  This initiative will now provide young people with a number of activities to do within their communities

“I would also like to thank the volunteers who run and work on these projects.  I understand that 150 volunteers will be providing their time to work with these young people.”

Nigel Harrison, CEO of Yorkshire Sport Foundation said: “It’s fantastic that the Sport for Change fund is helping our partners put on over 500 sessions this summer that will allow young people to use their free time in a positive way.

“There’s a great variety in the projects that have been funded and I look forward to seeing how these create an impact in the communities throughout the county.

“I’d like to echo the sentiments of Dr Alan Billings in thanking the volunteers who will be helping make these sessions possible in the coming weeks and I’m sure they will find the experience very rewarding.”

Throughout the school break, there will be a total of 500 sessions across South Yorkshire.

For more information on all of the projects awarded, please see http://www.yorkshiresport.org/sportforchange/