Kids Go For Gold with Dame Kelly Holmes

6/9/10

Double Olympic Champion, Dame Kelly Holmes, will lead the way in congratulating young people at a glittering awards ceremony as they graduate from  her charity’s ‘Get On Track’ programme, sponsored by Morgan Hunt.

The project was designed to get jobless youngsters ‘fit’ for employment and training through mentoring and guidance from the Trust’s team of world class sports performers. With the search for jobs being tougher than ever, ‘Get On Track’ saw young people undertake a range of community-based challenges and activities to help boost their confidence, self-esteem and employability skills.

The challenges included Community Sports Coaching with Millwall Football Club on a holiday play scheme and a Dragons Den-style challenge with the directors of top recruitment firm and sponsors of the ‘Get On Track’ programme, Morgan Hunt.

One of the star graduates of the project, Earls King Brown, aged 17, from Brixton said: “If it wasn’t for this project, I’d be on the streets getting involved in trouble.  I’m really trying to change my behaviours and attitude.  This course and the mentors have given me the belief I can change and confidence for finding work in the future. ; I hope to go back to college and find work experience, so one day I can have a job in IT. Get on Track has given me something positive to do, a chance to meet some amazing people and an opportunity to try new things”

The young people were mentored by elite athletes, who, from their experience of competing on the world stage, know what it’s like to face adversity and overcome the odds to succeed. With the 2010 Commonwealth Games around the corner in Delhi, one of the athlete mentors on the course included Britain’s very own Double Commonwealth Swimming Champion Adam Whitehead, as well as current World Inline Skating Champion, Jenna Downing, former European Skateboarding Champion Neil Danns and World BMX Champion, Mike Mullen.

Dame Kelly Holmes, chair of the DKH Legacy Trust said: “Currently, close to one million young people nationwide are not in education, employment or training. I am delighted that with the support of Morgan Hunt, my charity and the local partners, we have had the opportunity to help young people in Southwark get their lives ‘on track’. Too often young people who are struggling can be written off. Through our support, we are giving young people the skills and experience they need to help themselves, and hopefully go on to find training and employment”.