Colchester United Community Foundation are proud to announce a new support fund, available to qualifying families of players on one of our talent pathways – Boys Development Centre, Girls Development Centre, or Emerging Talent Centre.
New for the 2023/24 season, this funding will support families with the cost of attending pathway sessions, regardless of their socioeconomic status, or their geographical location.
Qualifying criteria for this fund are listed below and families whose children are within the pathways have already been contacted, with applications for the grant already received.
- Households whose collective annual income is £25k or less.
- Parents/carers who are currently claiming means-tested benefits, e.g., Income Support, Working Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit, Income-base Employment and Support Allowance and Universal Credit.
- Players in receipt of benefit based Free School Meals.
- Players who have disabilities, who are in care or who have left care, who live along outside the family home.
Players who are, or have been, subject to other exceptional circumstances.
Corin Haines CEO of Colchester United Community Foundation said:
‘’To compete in sport, specifically within a performance pathway, incurs an inevitable financial cost. Therefore, one of the stated aims across our Boys and Girls Development Centres from the 2023.24 season onwards is better inclusivity. In part, this means ensuring players, and their families can afford to attend regardless of their geographical, social, or economic background.’’
‘’The foundation offers a vast array of provision for all ages, many of those programmes are free or heavily subsidised, this fund will support children and young people that have been selected to attend our performance pathways who historically may have not had the disposable income to attend. This is a game changer for anyone in that situation’.’
‘’Whilst other local privately owned providers that offer a performance pathway and are able to share dividends with directors and shareholders, this positive change further imbeds our organisations position within its community aligning with our values and charitable objectives to reinvest surplus back into programmes we operate for the benefit of our participants.’’
One parent, whose daughter plays within the Girls Development Centre, said:
“It’s been a really big help. We appreciate all of the support that we can get, especially financially, to help provide her with the football that she needs. It has also now opened up other avenues outside of football, now that we have the support from Colchester United, it means she can look at doing other things too to help with other parts of life.”
