OUR GOAL CIC

💰 Funding 💰 A recurring challenge I have when accessing funding for OUR GOAL CIC is that many grant providers state that their funds cannot be used on programmes, projects and interventions which take place when there should be statutory provision (i.e. during the school day). The problem is that statutory provision does not always meet the needs of all. I believe delivery of interventions during the school day is crucial to reach some of the young people who need it most. Firstly, because it engages those who would not otherwise access the intervention. At OUR GOAL CIC, we particularly work with inactive teens who are unlikely to join a sports club because they have negative experiences of physical activity and don’t see it as a space for them. Secondly, because delivery during the school day removes barriers to participation. This is especially true when working with young people who face access barriers to engaging in after-school clubs such as travel and cost. School-based interventions allow us to physically get to where the young people are, when they're there, and work with them to make a positive difference. #funding #teens

91% of teenage girls involved said that being part of our Eva Programme boosted their mood.🎉 We work with girls who are disengaging with physical activity and support them to overcome barriers they're facing. Positive (and negative) experiences in your teenage years can be formative for the rest of your life, so it's important we continue to make sure girls have safe spaces to learn to move their bodies in ways which is motivating for them. #ourgoal #physicalactivity #teens

Very excited to announce our new partnership with SAICA PAPER UK LIMITED who are generously funding one of our year-long school programmes to support teenage girls in their local community. With Saica's support, we're looking forward to getting more teens in Trafford feeling good through moving 💪 Saica Group

Summer holidays are upon us and so our school programmes are taking a break until September. We've been working towards Our Goal of a world where every girl has positive, safe, and empowering experiences of physical activity which will improve her life. This year, we've worked with lots of teens across Greater Manchester delivering our Eva Programme and it's been incredible to see the results 💜 Thank you to our sponsors and funders who make this work possible.

We are delighted to announce the latest recipient of our £10,000 grant - Ella Williams, the founder of OUR GOAL CIC. Our Goal is a not-for-profit organisation which exists to empower every girl to be active and to reach her full potential. Ella is a women in sport activist and her background is in football as a mentor, coach, and researcher. Ella founded Our Goal because as a young child she loved sport, but when she reached her teenage years, she faced challenges which led her to drop out: challenges like feeling self-conscious, and that she didn’t belong. These are some of the reasons why currently, 43% of girls in England drop out of sport in their teenage years (Women in Sport, 2022). Finding her love for sport again later in life, Ella realised that too many teenage girls are missing out on the benefits of physical activity for their mental and physical health and wellbeing during their teens, and so she set up Our Goal. Our Goal wants to achieve a world where every girl has positive, safe, and empowering experiences of physical activity. Ella will use the Shackleton Foundation grant to develop Our Goal’s school-based mentoring and physical activity programme, to be known as Eva. The Eva project is a 6-month intervention delivered to teenage girls to boost their mental and physical health and wellbeing through physical activity. It particularly targets inactive girls who live in areas of multiple deprivation as these are the young people who face most barriers to being active.

Last week, it was great to see Barclay's WSL assistant referee Ruby Sykes introducing refereeing to a group of young girls at a local Weetabix Wildcats session with OUR GOAL CIC, empowering and inspiring the next generation!

What a treat to have the amazing Ruby Sykes at our mentoring session after football training yesterday to tell the girls all about refereeing! Such a successful and inspiring woman🎉💪🏽💞⚽

Let teenage girls wear makeup to do sport if they want to 💪🏽 Women in Sport found that 65% of teenage girls don't like others watching them when they exercise and 61% feel judged when doing sport. What does that tell us? Appearance is important, and teens are hyper sensitive to it. So why don’t we make it easier for them? If a teenage girl feels more comfortable taking part in PE or sport with her hair done or makeup on, why are we trying to stop them? We should be putting things in place to help girls to break down the barriers they face to taking part, not increasing them. Some girls choose to wear makeup because it’s what helps them feel confident, so this is exactly what we should be encouraging if we want girls to have positive experiences of being active. Femininity and sport can work together, it doesn’t have to be one or the other. I love that we have more role models in the media of strong women who also like to do their hair and makeup, and I think we should allow and celebrate the same in teenagers. At the end of the day, why does it matter how girls look when they’re being active? Its about how they feel. Let’s do what we can to keep teenage girls moving and boosting their wellbeing. #empowerher

Thank you Asda Foundation 💜 Come on England! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

We've officially partnered with University Academy 92 (UA92) in a collaboration which will support the growth and impact of Our Goal and provide work experience and other opportunities to students! #partnership