The Aston Villa Foundation are delighted to be able to offer the Chances Programme to improve the lives of young people affected by Covid 19.
The social investment arm of The Big Issue is investing £1.25 million from its Outcomes Investment Fund, set up with investment from Big Society Capital, into a programme that will support over 6,000 young people across 21 local areas in the UK to improve their lives, through sports and activity.
The Chances Programme, co-developed by Substance in partnership with the Life Chances Fund, Sport England and BII, is committed to harnessing the power of sport to enhance the life-chances of disadvantaged young people aged 8-17 years, for the next three years
The investment will be used to create new opportunities to empower young people to get active and re-engage with education and skills provision; targeting those who are from low socio-economic backgrounds, have an offending record and/or low school attendance.
The Foundation will be offering the Chances Programme, in collaberation with Birmingham Children's Trust, to support young people in Birmingham who have been affected by Covid 19. Working with Birmingham Children's Trust, we will identify young people who could benefit from the programme to ensure they are given the support that they need.
"We are delighted to be offering the Chances programme to young people in Birmingham. We are working with Birmingham Children's Trust to identify those who need vital support due to a variety of challenges and circumstances and deliver a combination of sport and mentoring interventions on a weekly basis."
James Lowbridge
Interventions Manager
Jake Shaw, Head of Service, Rights & Participation and Corporate Parenting at Birmingham Children’s Trust, said: "Chances is a really exciting opportunity to support children and young people across Birmingham.
"We are really pleased to be partnered with the Aston Villa Foundation who have the right skills to be able to support our young people make progress and achieve. The programme focus is on key areas linked to education, those at risk of reoffending, physical health and well-being.
"An amazing relationship-based programme has been developed by the Aston Villa Foundation which will reach out to young people in so many ways, not just through sport and physical activity. We cannot wait for this to start and we know children and young people will really benefit from this opportunity.”
Contact Us
If you would like to find out more about the Foundation's involvement in the Chances Programme, email
