“Apart from all the health benefits, gymnastics is also a great way of self-expression for Leo.”
Leo started practising Gymnastics at age of 7 or 8. Leo has Downs Syndrome and has learning and speech delays. Leo’s Dad Alex told us “Leo greatly enjoys movement. He likes the bars and some balancing exercises.”
Being a single parent and full-time carer, Alex can only work part-time within school hours.
Leo was awarded a Hardship Grant to help with the cost of his gymnastics. “The Hardship Grant is a very significant contribution towards the cost of Leo’s gymnastics.”
Photo: Leo and his Dad Alex
Kristian Thomas is running the London Marathon to raise funds for the Hardship Grants.
Please support him as he makes it possible for more people like Leo to continue gymnastics and benefit from all that is gives him.
“I need the gym in my life. It helps me stay regulated and helps with my social skills.”
Marty attends Lincoln Gymnastics Club. He told us “As a young person with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) and ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) I need the gym in my life. It helps me stay regulated and helps with my social skills.”
Marty has experienced great success, winning the 2021 British Disability Championships’ Junior Title. Marty also went on to become the High Bar champion at the British Disability Masters Championships 2022.
Marty’s Mum Marina said, “After he won the junior British Championship, his club offered him more hours which has been a God send! Marty is reliant on the gym to help him cope with everyday life and it’s one of his only means of meeting people.”
Marina is a full-time carer for Marty and Marty’s father who has a brain injury.
“The Hardship Grant will go toward the increased fees so we can’t thank you enough. Without the help towards his fees, it would have been such a struggle, especially with all the rises in the cost of living.”
Photo of Marty with his British Disability Masters 2022 Medal and Trophy.
Kristian Thomas is running the London Marathon to raise funds for the Hardship Grants.
Please support him as he makes it possible for more people like Marty to continue gymnastics and benefit from all that is gives him.
An exciting opportunity exists at
British Gymnastics Foundation for new Independent Trustees who can offer
guidance, support, expertise and an objective perspective on the key matters of
strategy, governance and financial affairs.
In order to expand and compliment
the highly skilled existing Board, British Gymnastics Foundation is looking for
up to three leaders, with a myriad of experiences across either business, sport
or both. We have ambitions to support next generation leaders, so although
helpful, previous Board experience is not essential for the role; and we have a
good induction process to support all new Board members.
British Gymnastics Foundation is a
young charity established in 2014. The Foundation enjoys a good working
relationship with British Gymnastics, the National Governing Body for
gymnastics in the UK. Through collaborative working, the British Gymnastics Foundation
creates opportunities through gymnastics, to bring real improvements to the
lives of people and communities most in need; transforming lives through
gymnastics.
2022 has seen world event continue
to challenge us all, but with hard work and dedication, the past 12 months has
seen the British Gymnastics Foundation grow its impact, with a rapid increase
in the number of beneficiaries supported within our public benefit programmes.
Most notably, the Foundation’s Love to Move programme, which is an age and
dementia friendly chair-based gymnastics programme, has delivered more online
training courses and activity sessions to benefit the most vulnerable older
people in our communities. Love to Move now has over 600 trained deliverers.
The Foundation’s Hardship Grants
programme has also awarded £358,000, saving 1,063 individuals from dropping out
of the sport they love due to significant financial hardship.
If you have experience at Director
or Senior Management level, British Gymnastics Foundation would like to
encourage you to apply for this position which, will require an investment of
time annually of approximately 4 – 8 days to help British Gymnastics Foundation
deliver a Strategic Plan that will build on our successes and further develop
the charity; helping us to reach out to more people who are most in need,
transforming their lives through gymnastics. To complement our current
Trustee skills, we are ideally looking for candidates with experience in any of
the following areas: Audit, Risk Management, Financial, Governance and Legal.
British Gymnastics Foundation is committed to equal opportunities
and aims to provide a discrimination-free environment for staff, volunteers and
everyone involved in our work. We are committed to policy and working practices
which are in line with the Equality Act 2010; and we warmly welcome the
opportunity of working with a diverse range of people in all that we do. We are
very proud to have advanced the inclusion, equality and diversity agendas through
the work of our programmes to date; and this work has been recognised as
contributing to the achievement of the Advanced Level of the Equality Standard
for Sport, for British Gymnastics & the British Gymnastics Foundation.
Our Board meetings take place four times per year in March, June,
September and December. If any candidates have accessibility requirements, we are
committed to doing what is needed to ensure that they can participate in every
aspect of our Board.
To apply for this exciting and challenging opportunity, please send a CV and covering letter to:
Patrick Bonner, Head of British Gymnastics Foundation E-mail: [email protected]
If you would like to have an exploratory conversation regarding the roles, please email us and we will be happy to arrange a discussion with you.
