Almost 40% of young people are living in deprivation in London and 700,000 of them are growing up in poverty. Living in deprivation has numerous negative effects on a young person: they have fewer opportunities to develop their social, emotional and cognitive skills, are far more likely to feel disengaged in school and are three times more likely to have a mental illness than children in the best-off households.

To counter the negative effects of growing up in poverty, we:  Work in communities across London where over 2/3 of young people are living in high levels of deprivation.  Run 50 projects with state schools.  Employ sports coaches to deliver full-time extracurricular programmes that include breakfast, lunch and after-school youth clubs that empower and inspire young people growing up in disadvantage to develop life skills.  Provide opportunity for coaches to mentor and inspire young people.