Following national grants and community support, a Shropshire-based Community Interest Company (CIC) is continuing its quest to support retired military veterans.
Allsports Coaches Coaching Academy (ACCA) have received a grant from The National Lottery, which will enable them to offer their sports training programme for free to 15 military veterans from Shropshire and Telford in 2023.
ACCA offers a training programme for military veterans – and others – who’re looking for a career change, who have a passion for coaching sport and who are interested in becoming mentors to children and young people.
Jim Prescott, Founder and CEO of ACCA, said: “We feel so incredibly grateful to have been recognised by The National Lottery, and successful in our application for support. Not only will this allow us to offer free training to 15 local veterans, but in turn this will positively impact hundreds of children and young people within our Shropshire and Telford communities.
“Since we launched ACCA in 2019, it’s been an incredibly popular initiative. We’re eager to continue working with our local communities and provide dedicated training opportunities for Armed Forces Veterans, with a key focus on sports coaching, mentoring and mental health support. Following the completion of training, engaging and fun sporting programmes will be available for young people, also providing a safe space, a sense of belonging and a team to talk to.”
The National Lottery funding was officially presented to ACCA on Monday 19th December 2022 by The Lord Lieutenant of Shropshire.
The National Lottery Community Fund supports various charities and organisations across the UK each year, distributing over £600m raised by players of The National Lottery.
“We’ve had an extremely exciting year and are tremendously appreciative of our local community supporters,” Jim continued. “Our core sports qualifications are funded by CIMPSA, and over the past few months, we’ve also received funding from VINCI UK Foundation via Freyssinet Limited based in Telford, which will allow us to create a series of promotional videos and launch a media channel to our website. Clare White, who’s sponsored us for this funding, has been very supportive with the development of this project.
“Plus, we’re extremely grateful for some PR and Communications support from Zen Communications as part of their #Zen15for15 pledge. Here’s to an exciting 2023!”
To learn more about ACCA, visit the website: allsportscoaching.co.uk/ or you can register your interest in applying for sports coaching training here: allsportscoaching.co.uk/members/register.