Project Case Studies 

Asian Action Group (AAG) Haringey - Goals in the Community Project

Goals in the Community works with young people and adults from areas experiencing multiple deprivation, by engaging beneficiaries in activities that they enjoy, and by improving their economic prospects through attaining sports coaching qualifications and personal development.

Lindsay Boyaram, Sports Development Officer, explains the philosophy behind the project. ?AAG considers that disengagement from the labour market in terms of inactivity and a lack of motivation can generally erode basic job skills. In order to make beneficiaries more job-ready the focus is not solely on ?hard? quantitative outcomes. Key transferable work skills, attitudinal skills, personal skills and practical skills such as ICT and interview are incorporated into our work through voluntary work experience and training in order to progress towards greater employability. We also recognise that the communities we serve a richly diverse and therefore the workers and services need to be more culturally competent.?

Goals in the Community received just over £70,000 Objective 2 LSC funding from April 2004 to March 2006.

?The LSC funding has been crucial to the project as it has enabled participants to gain approved National Governing Body qualifications at levels 1 and 2, in football and basketball. We have now come to the end of our two-year programme, which has been successful and very popular. We have delivered 41 sports coaching qualifications and engaged over 150 people through advice and guidance, employment support and assistance to go into further education.

Our beneficiaries have gone on to employment, voluntary work in the community, further training and even set up their own enterprises. We are pleased that there has been an increase in the number of women taking up the sports coaching qualifications and we intend to build on this work.

Furthermore, AAG is consolidating its place in the borough as a key sports coaching delivery agency. We were commissioned by Haringey Council to deliver football and basketball coaching programmes across the borough this summer and will be working in several schools from this academic year.?

The Goals in the Community project has now come to an end, but the project is launching its next phase, its Coaching Community Sports Project (CCS). With funding from the Football Foundation and Sports England this programme engages unemployed people or those on low incomes, women, disabled people and those from BME communities in a programme of personal development that includes, advice and guidance, accredited sports coaching at levels 1, 2 and 3, workshops in community development and healthy living, voluntary work experience in schools and community/sports organisations and assistance with securing employment and/or further education.  

It is anticipated that the CCS project will engage 500 adults and young people in sporting activities, of which 180 will be new to sports, 180 will be over 45 years of age and 60 will be from disability groups. A further 140 women & girls will benefit from introductory programmes to sports, advice on healthy living and community development initiatives

For more information contact:
Lindsay Boyaram, Sports Development Officer 020 8341 3802

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