Thanks to funding from players of People’s Postcode Lottery, through Postcode Community Trust, we are thrilled to announce that our  year long “Empower Me” project started in early May. The scheme, which focuses on empowerment and personal motivation through sport, encourages disabled children to celebrate and embrace their abilities and achievements.

An estimated 180 disabled children and young people aged 8-25 will directly benefit from the scheme. Each week children will participate in “Empower Me” sports sessions, at the Academy. Sports on offer include table tennis (Tuesday’s 7 – 9pm), multi-sports such as basketball and handball (Wednesday’s 4 – 5pm) and “Funs for Everyone”, the leading Fundamental Movement Skills programme (Friday’s 5 – 6pm), which teaches balance, coordination and agility.

The £17,000 grant will also fund regional event competitions in Merseyside, bringing together disabled children from different backgrounds, encouraging teamwork and friendly competition. This social inclusion aims to empower children to meet friends and develop networks, whilst also improving health, stress and self-image.

Trained sports coaches conducting these sports sessions are often disabled themselves, giving young people aspirational role models to look up to and ask for support.