Northern Irish Full Fibre broadband provider, Fibrus, has today launched its 2024 Play it Forward Fund, with a £50k pot available to sports clubs across Northern Ireland and Cumbria.
The fund, which is in its second year, is designed to support grassroots sports in regional and rural communities, offering up to £1,000 per club to help with equipment, kits, improving facilities and subsiding training fees.
The Fund is designed to support children under 18 years and encourage them to switch off from devices, get active and have fun.
Linda McMillan, Chief People Officer at Fibrus, said: “Investing in local communities is one of our core missions at Fibrus and our Play it Forward Fund allows us to play a vital role in improving the health and wellbeing of children.
“Sports and clubs are intrinsic to the communities in which we operate, and we are committed to supporting these communities wholly, through both digital connectivity, but also by ensuring clubs have access to essential funds to support children’s sports in their area.
“After such a good response to the Fund last year, we are delighted to continue this initiative in 2024 to support grassroots community sports organisations. We are looking forward to the positive impact it will have on local communities in the upcoming year”.
30 clubs in Northern Ireland received funding support in 2023 including Ballinamallard Youth Soccer Development, who used the funds to support their girls’ programmes, and St Brigid’s Camogie club in Armagh, which used the funds received from Fibrus to run a 10-week programme encouraging more local children to get involved in the sport.
Enniskillen Ladies Hockey club received £1,000 to help with pitch hire costs, allowing them to provide free, accessible and local hockey coaching for individuals aged 7 and upwards. Strangford Coastal Rowing club also benefitted from the funding, using it to purchase life jackets, which help keep membership fees low and reduced barriers which could deter young people from taking part.
Kerry Toner, Chairperson at St Brigid’s camogie club in Armagh said: “The funds received from Play it Forward allowed us to reach out to a wider set of children and to provide an overall training top so that all of the children felt included and there was no pressure on the parents.
We hope that all of the children remain within the club after the initial programme and continue to enjoy playing camogie with their friends for years to come.”
The 2024 Play it Forward Fund comes on the back of Fibrus’ announcement earlier this year that it was making an additional £120,000 of funding available across Northern Ireland and Cumbria through the Fibrus Community Fund, to alleviate digital poverty, underlining the broadband provider’s commitment to the local community.
The next round of funding is now open and the application window will close on the 5th of July 2024.
To learn more about the full eligibility criteria and how to apply to the Fibrus Play it Forward Fund, visit https://fibrus.com/play-it-forward-fund/.
