On 16th September, Wembley National Stadium Trust (WNST) held two receptions at Wembley Stadium to celebrate our latest rounds of grants awards. These were attended by Paralympic champion Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson DBE and the Mayor of Brent, Cllr Bobby Thomas.
Grants over £150,000 were made to local charities and sports organisations in Brent to help them deliver community sports activities. A new London-wide scheme was also launched with grants worth £800,000 over three years to deliver new sporting opportunities for disabled Londoners.
Community Sport in Brent
18 grants were awarded on the LB Brent programme totalling £154,570 for activities as diverse as watersports on the Welsh Harp reservoir, youth football, athletics, judo and bowls. This grants distribution is part of a long-term commitment to promote community sport in the borough.
Disability Sport in London
Our London-wide programme was developed in response to the surge in demand by disabled people to play sport, generated by London2012 and the Paralympics. We are supporting 11 disability sports projects in the capital for up to three years, to increase opportunities for disabled Londoners to give different sports a try and take part in competitions.
The projects funded on the London-wide programme involve all of the community sports programmes allied to London’s 15 professional football clubs, several of the key sports governing bodies, disabled people’s organisations and other expert providers of disability sport. New opportunities will be provided in football, cricket, athletics, wheelchair sports and multi-sports across different age ranges. Projects will offer everything from taster sessions to competitive match play for people with different levels of physical disabilities, visual impairment, learning difficulties, mental ill health and autism.
Lord Toby Harris, Chairman of WNST said: “We are delighted to be making this important contribution towards the development of disability sport in London. Many disabled people of all ages and impairments want to give sport a try and to compete in leagues and cup competitions.
The organisations we are funding have all adopted the ‘Inclusive & Active 2’ quality standard and will deliver exciting new opportunities across a range of sports, which we hope can be replicated elsewhere. Our elite Paralympians have blazed a trail and we look forward to seeing many more disabled Londoners taking part in sport in the future.”
Future grants rounds
The LB Brent scheme will launch its winter grants round later in 2013. Further information on this scheme can be found under the ‘How to apply’ section of this website (www.wnst.org.uk). Please check regularly for information on when to apply.
