By Harry Mottram: You may have heard about Bath Rugby Foundation but perhaps like many are not sure what it does. In a nutshell it is Bath Rugby’s charity and its main purpose is to empower vulnerable children and young people in Bath and the surrounding area to succeed – basically by providing support, workshops, training and encouragement to the 8,154 children in Bath and North East Somerset who are on the breadline.
Founded in 2003 the foundation initially provided rugby coaching to school children from disadvantaged backgrounds but as the needs of the poorer areas of the city became more obvious the foundation moved its focus to meet the needs of these children and shifted away from purely coaching rugby skills.
For those who think of Bath Rugby and its supporters as being the well-heeled of the city wrapped up in what some may see as a minority sport for the privileged then think again.
The Foundation based at the Rec and rugby ground is an inclusive social operation helping children from all walks of life with some lovely case studies posted on their website of where they have helped young people to develop and gain confidence – many through the HITZ programme. See https://www.premiershiprugby.com/community/hitz
HITZ is the UK’s largest rugby union social inclusion programme working with over 2,000 16-24-year olds across England. For more information on HITZ see the website as it works across 40 sports but it also about improving maths and English through its academy programme and improving the life chances of young people.
Caitlin Roy for instance wanted to play rugby but was overlooked as she has both dyspraxia (affecting coordination) and a spinal condition and there is Stan Groves who had the toughest start to life when, soon after his addict parents left him aged just two, he was diagnosed with leukaemia. These and other case histories are uplifting and are part of the brilliant work of the Foundation.
It’s a sobering thought that Twerton West is in the top 10% most deprived areas in the UK while Whiteway is in the bottom 1% in the country in its provision of education and training for children and young people.
So the next time you think of Bath Rugby as a bastion of privilege and the affluent – think again. See their website for details.
For more visit https://www.bathrugbyfoundation.com/
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Harry Mottram is a freelance journalist. Follow him on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest, Telegram, TikTok and Email:harryfmottram@gmail.com
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