The future of climbing lessons for girls from Medlock Primary School has been secured after Cariocca Enterprises stepped in to provide vital funds.
With funding for lessons set to end, girls from the primary school faced the prospect of seeing their extra-curricular lessons cancelled.
Funding was needed for the next round of lessons, which see girls from the school train towards achieving accreditation under the NICAS climbing award scheme at Manchester Climbing Centre.
Manchester-based social enterprise YP Potential, which runs the lessons as part of its ‘One Mile Project’ community initiative, secured the funds after approaching Cariocca.
24 girls from the primary school aged between nine and eleven will now have the opportunity to participate in the lessons over a 25 week period, spanning April to July and September to December, with all girls completing the National Indoor Award Scheme in the process.
Nadia Fortune-Nesbit, operations manager at Cariocca Enterprises, said:
“Making sport accessible for pupils at a young age, especially where those opportunities may not otherwise exist, is exceptionally important. Engaging in activities such as climbing lessons can help boost self-esteem and teamwork – two important qualities for our children to learn that can help them get on later in life.
“When we were approached by YP Potential about the possibility of funding the girls’ climbing lessons we were delighted to be able to help – we hope the girls really enjoy their lessons.”
YP Potential, a division of The Apprentice Academy, is developing a model which delivers corporate social responsibility schemes for employers across Manchester – partnering with them to secure funding for community groups and schools less than one mile from their location.
100 per cent of the funding secured is used to fund the co-ordination of activities and the activities themselves.
Jim Clarke, founder of YP Potential, said:
“Since 2015 we’ve been funding a range of activities which includes football, skateboarding and climbing as part of our own CSR. However, to grow the amount of young people we support we needed to reach out and partner with other businesses in Manchester to provide financial sponsorship of projects.”
“For many young people across Manchester the opportunities to engage in sporting activity outside are not always easily available due to financial barriers. We want to encourage as many young people as possible to get involved with sporting activities – it can help people build friendships, learn about the importance of working together and, of course, help them keep fit and healthy.
“We are really pleased that Cariocca has come on board as our first partner and will be supporting the girls at Medlock Primary School to continue with their climbing lessons.”
For more information about ‘The One Mile Project’ and YP Potential’s community initiatives visit http://yppotential.co.uk/.