Ipswich Sporting Lunch Club has handed over £20,000 to SportsAid Eastern to help up-and-coming young sportsmen and women in the county achieve their sporting dreams.
The Ipswich Sporting Lunch Club is supported by eight local businesses – StrategiQ Marketing Ltd, Beckett Investment Management Group, Handelsbanken, Fenn Wright Surveyors and Agents, Waller Transport Services, Ensors Chartered Accountants, Ellisons Solicitors and Pound Gates Chartered Insurance Brokers.
It raises much-needed funding by hosting two sporting lunches a year to raise money for national charity SportsAid.
SportsAid works with the governing bodies of 75 sporting disciplines to provide funding and support for young people with the talent and desire to achieve at the very highest levels.
The charity has directly helped dozens of aspiring young athletes from Suffolk, including some who have gone on to win medals at Olympic, Paralympic, Commonwealth, World and European level.
Jane Horridge, Director of SportsAid Eastern, said, “There is a huge amount of talent in Suffolk. Thanks to the generosity of the Ipswich Lunch Club sponsors, SportsAid can help even more young people from the county to realise their full potential.”
She continued, “On average, it will cost a young athlete £7,000 per year to train and compete at an elite level, with most receiving no other form of financial backing outside SportsAid and the bank of mum and dad. So every penny raised can, and does, make a real and lasting benefit to young people from Suffolk.”
Speaking on behalf of the sponsors, Darryn Flynn from Waller Transport, said, “As local businesses who are all rooted in the local community, we are pleased to play our part in helping talented young sportsmen and women from Suffolk to grow, flourish and achieve.
“By working in partnership with SportsAid we know that there’s no better organisation to help get our support to the young people at the right time.”
Since 1976, SportsAid has supported tens of thousands of athletes by distributing over £50 million in awards. Alumni include Jessica Ennis-Hill, Mo Farah, Tanni Grey-Thompson, Sarah Storey, Steve Redgrave, Katherine Grainger and Daley Thompson.
sportsaideastern.co.uk