ABOUT US
In
2012 we spent two weeks in Warsaw, Poland during Euro 2012 coaching football in
schools and youth detention centres. This opportunity came about through our
volunteering through StreetGames and their partnership with the football
charity Lionsraw. This was an amazing opportunity as it gave us a chance to
learn new skills and gain life experience. In Poland all our sessions focused
on teamwork and handling disappointment as that is something the youth offender’s
centres had identified as appropriate to the groups. In the school sessions we
were treated like celebrities as the children wanted to meet their new coaches
from England. The experience of being in a city hosting a major sporting event
was incredible.
We
share a dream of wanting to go to the Brazil World Cup in 2014 not just as
spectators but as people who want to make a difference in the world by using
sport as the tool to engage disadvantaged people. The surrounding area of
Curitiba has problems including drugs, but young children do not attend school
leaving them with little to do apart from resort to a life of crime. Even
within the city children attend school for half a day meaning they have free
time that needs to be occupied.
This
article is about us and our backgrounds in sport, volunteering and our life
experiences.
Craig Robson
Age – 23
Born – Newcastle Upon Tyne, United
Kingdom
Volunteer
Experience – I
started volunteering during my degree at Northumbria University. Through my
degree placement I started working with North Tyneside Council and
eventually this led to a full time coaching role. However I remained a
volunteer and continued to support new volunteers on a project set up by
the Council. This meant I was able to travel to Poland and represent our
project.
Sporting
Experience – I
hold a variety of sports qualifications including football, table tennis,
dodgeball and athletics at level 2. I am also qualified as bikeability
instructor teaching young people how to cycle on the roads safely.
Life
Experience – Poland
2012 was amazing as it is the first major sporting event I have attended in
a different country. I spent a month travelling around Peru visiting the
Amazon and Machu Pichu which was classic.
Hobbies
and Interests -
My main hobby is sport as it is something that I am involved with daily
either as work or socially. I enjoy travelling and learning about new
cultures which make Brazil 2014 an ideal experience!
|
Michael Gardner
Age – 21
Born – Newcastle Upon Tyne, United Kingdom
Volunteer Experience – I started volunteering after
deciding that I did not want to work my whole life doing something I was not
passionate about. Football has always been a big part of my life and I started
to volunteer at my local football project called the HatTrick project. I volunteer
for my local football club and I am also on the young advisors board for a
national charity called StreetGames.
Sporting Experience – I have years of experience coaching
football and through my volunteering commitments I have won both local and
national awards for outstanding contributions to my local community. I have a
FA level 1 and nearing completion of my FA level 2. I am a sports leader’s
level 2 and I am also a qualified tutor. I hope to gain a lot more
qualifications during the year to prepare me for Brazil 2014.
Life Experience – Poland 2012 was life changing for
me because the work was so worthwhile and it felt that we were leaving a
lasting legacy for Warsaw. Through my work with StreetGames I was offered a
work placement with Coca Cola during the London 2012 Olympic Games. I was based
at the Olympic Park and had the privileged to witness the unbelievable
atmosphere around the parks whilst watching the different sports in my
spare time.
Hobbies and Interests - My main hobby is football, I coach
and play football. I support Newcastle United who play in the English Premier League. I have witnessed some of the world’s biggest sporting events and it is
safe to say that I have caught the bug and shall be using my passion to change
lives all over the world.
WATCH OUT BRAZIL 2014
AND SO IT BEGINS!!!!!!!!!
@PROJECTCURITIBA
No comments:
Post a Comment