A project that uses the power of football to help change the lives of young people is proving to be a success in Renfrewshire.
Street League supports young people in underprivileged areas across the UK and help them get into education, training and employment.
The Transforming Lives project works with up to 500 S4 and S5 school pupils from parts of Scotland most at risk of future unemployment - with one of its bases set up in Renfrewshire.
Training provided by the project supports employability and interview skills and learning for accredited qualifications through a mix of classroom and sport-based sessions. Each young person has a programme tailored to their individual needs.
The programme, which is funded by the ScottishPower Foundation, runs for 10 weeks, Monday to Thursday, for a group of 16 young people.
Sessions include employability work such as mock interviews, employer expectation preparation and customer service scenario training.
Each day is finished off with a sports or fitness session.
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One Paisley teen who has taken part in the project has told how it has helped him learn valuable skills for the future and helped him think about his career options.
Reece Connell, 18, from Blackhall, said: “My career adviser at school put me in touch with Street League and I thought why not as it gives me something to focus on and I do really enjoy learning with the sport.
“It’s made a huge difference as it gets me up and about and gives me a purpose and I’ve learnt lots on the employability course. It’s taught me social skills and a lot of things I can use in the workplace when I’m older.
“When I reach the end of the project, I want to get an apprenticeship and get into a trade. The Street League team is helping me find courses. The funding from the ScottishPower Foundation is so important as it gives young people a lot of opportunities.”
The innovative programme was recently shown support from Scotland international footballer Stephen O’Donnell, who said he was ‘blown away’ by the positive impact of the transformational programme.
Stephen said: “It was amazing to meet the young people who are going through the programme and hear their personal stories about the difference it has made for them. And it was really humbling to see how the power of sport can help improve people’s lives and open doors they might otherwise not have had access to.
“It makes me appreciate the opportunities I’ve had even more and I’m really thankful to Street League and the ScottishPower Foundation for inviting me along to find out about the great work going on. I was truly blown away.”
The ScottishPower Foundation was established in 2013 to support charitable causes such as Street League’s ‘Transforming Lives’ project. Street League was one of 16 charities across the UK to benefit from almost £1.2 million funding distributed by the ScottishPower Foundation last year.
Melanie Hill, executive officer and Trustee at the ScottishPower Foundation, said: “The work of the Street League team is incredible and shows how sport can be used as the foundation for supporting young people to learn new skills, adopt a new mindset and reach their full potential.
"By using sport as the basis to teach about life skills, resilience and employability as well as support education and learning, the charity is engaging and inspiring young people – and giving them a real boost as they consider their next steps in life.
“Transforming Lives is a great example of what the ScottishPower Foundation is all about – supporting causes that create a deep and lasting impact in communities and make a real difference to people’s lives. I’m so proud the ScottishPower Foundation funding has made the project possible and will create a meaningful and lasting legacy for everyone who takes part.”
Further information on the way the ScottishPower Foundation supports charitable projects can be found at scottishpowerfoundation.com.
To find out more about Street League, please visit streetleague.co.uk
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