The Hull FC Community Foundation has partnered up with two local secondary schools to launch its new ‘Unite Girls’ programme, aiming to inspire young girls to live their best lives.
As many as 40 girls aged between 14 and 16 from Sirius Academy West and Boulevard Academy will be engaged with in a bid to instil them with healthy, positive aspirations for their futures.
Sessions will take place on a weekly basis, lasting for 90 minutes, fusing 45 minutes of physical activity that supports improved mood and mindset, and 45 minutes of skill-based activities that improve confidence, understanding of mental wellbeing, promote self-awareness and empathy, and create stronger inter-personal relationships between participants.
Potential beneficiaries have worked with Foundation staff through the Holiday Activity Programme to create a new programme inspired by the ‘Five Ways to Wellbeing’, one that is informed by lived experiences and adds value to existing work taking place in this space within core curriculum time.
Hull FC’s Youth & Community Centre on Pickering Road will serve as the central hub for the Unite Girls sessions, providing access to multi-sports, creative sessions around art, craft, and music, and life skill support including nutrition and managing money across the 90-minute activity.
Recognising that participating in volunteering and social action can positively impact mental health as well as support development of skills and behaviours that aid education and employability, during holiday periods, participants will be supported to work in small groups to undertake leadership activities alongside Foundation staff that promote citizenship, pride, and community awareness.
John Cliff, Trustee of The JVenn Foundation commented: “It’s really great to see Hull FC, through its Community Foundation, supporting the local area with the Unite Girls project. I’m sure it will prove invaluable for the girls who are able to get involved. It lines up well with the projects that the JVenn Foundation has supported in Hull since 2015 which have given a little step up to kids around the city and it complements the other work we do in funding students going to university.”
Rebecca Counter, Health & Physical Activity Coach at the Hull FC Community Foundation added: “Everyone here is thoroughly excited ahead of the launch of the new Unite Girls project. It follows glimpses of what can be achieved through a specific programme designed for secondary school girls, as demonstrated through the half-term camps we have previously provided for this demographic. It has always been a scheme that has been well engaged with, and the opportunity to inspire young girls to live better lives is one we are really thrilled about.”
