Bowbridge Homes support an inspirational Mintridge programme with Danielle Brown MBE and Evie Toombes at Chapel St Leonards Primary School
Thanks to the support from our partners, Bowbridge Homes, Team Mintridge had a fantastic day at Chapel St Leonards Primary School with double Paralympic gold medallist, Danielle Brown MBE and our inspirational Para Showjumper, Evie Toombes. We were delighted to be able to physically visit Chapel St Leonards Primary School with Danielle and Evie, to inspire all the students to be the best versions of themselves and show them what they can achieve when they aspire to be more and say yes to the opportunities around them.
With years of experience competing for Great Britain and also in life outside of sport, Danielle was the perfect person to visit Chapel St Leonards Primary School to inspire them on their own journeys to success. Danielle talked through her sporting journey and how she was able to achieve two Paralympic gold medals in archery but also the lessons she learnt along the way to achieve those accolades. It was so important for the children to hear how Danielle had started her journey right where they were at school and how having a ‘can do’ attitude and growth mindset, has been some of the keys to her success along the way.
“I am more than my list of achievements and you are more than the result on a test or exam paper!”
The students were also very excited to see Danielle’s gold medals during the day, which showed them that hard work can pay off if you dream big but also that sometimes the road to success isn’t always an easy one. Danielle’s favourite two words, especially in the face of a challenge are, ‘I CAN’ and this is definitely something she wanted the students to remember when they are next faced with a challenge or tough situation.
After a very exciting first archery session with Danielle, it was time to welcome Evie Toombes to the stage so the children could hear all about her journey and life story so far. With lots of daily challenges in front of her, Evie shared some very valuable messages with the students about how they can achieve what they set their mind to, even in the face of adversity or someone telling them that they can’t.
As someone who is a big advocate for having a positive mindset, knowing your worth and using your strengths to your advantage, Evie shared some brilliant examples with the students during her presentation about how they can use the support network around them to achieve big things and how they can all use their strengths and weaknesses to their advantage.
Evie wanted all of the students to take away some key messages that they could all learn from and wanted them to try and focus on the positive things in their life as well as what they could do to not worry about things they couldn’t control or hadn’t experienced before. The students also asked some brilliant questions for Evie to answer and these are some of the best ones;
What is the biggest challenge you have faced?
Is it hard for you to go about your daily life?
How old were you when you found out about your disability?
How challenging is horse riding with your disability?
Did you ever think about taking part in a different sport?
What inspired you to take up horse riding?
How does it feel when you make it to a competition and succeed?
What inspires you every day?
Evie has competed at the top level in Para showjumping and regularly comes up against challenges she can’t control, so always focuses on being resilient and staying positive.
Throughout the remainder of the day, Danielle led multiple amazing archery coaching sessions that the students were all very excited to get involved in. Danielle was extremely pleased to see the students working hard to coach each other on the day and persevere when they missed the target. During these sessions, Danielle highlighted the importance of working hard at something and having huge ambitions, even when they might seem a bit scary.
At the end of each of the coaching sessions, the students at Chapel St Leonards Primary School had some great questions to ask Danielle. Here were some of the best ones;
What did it feel like to compete at the Paralympics?
How long did it take you to learn archery?
What emotions do you feel when you take part in archery?
At what age did you start doing archery?
What was your proudest moment in archery?
If you had to pick another sport to compete in, what would it be?
We are so grateful to the staff at Chapel St Leonards Primary School for allowing us to visit them and for helping to organise this incredible day with Danielle and Evie.
At The Mintridge Foundation, we believe that everyone should have the opportunity to hear the stories and experience the power our exceptional Mintridge role models have on the young people we work with. We know that having a role model who can support you, influence you and offer you advice, can help you on your own journey and pathway to success. This is why the support from Bowbridge Homes has been invaluable for this programme as it has helped to raise the aspirations and ambitions of the young people we worked with near their current development and therefore helped to support the community surrounding their development too. Thank you Bowbridge Homes for your continued support.
If you are interested in a Programme with Evie Toombes, Danielle Brown MBE or any of our other Mintridge Ambassadors, or you are interested in a virtual or physical Programme with one of our team of inspirational Ambassadors, then please get in touch via the Mintridge website or with Katie.
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The Mintridge Foundation is a registered charity dedicated to enhancing life skills in young people through sport. We provide a support network for young people by harnessing the power of positive sporting role models. The Mintridge Foundation assists young people of all ages, abilities, and physical capabilities to develop confidence and resilience, and creates awareness of the importance of mental and physical wellbeing through sport.
Our team of Ambassadors - Olympians, Paralympians and other professional sports stars from over 20 sports, both team and individual - work with young people in schools, clubs and academies across the UK. Starting with visits including assemblies, coaching clinics and classroom sessions tailored to each organisation’s requirements, our ambassadors can then provide one- on- one remote mentoring in a safeguarded environment, delivered via technology such as FitSwarm and Playwaze to build a lasting legacy for individuals.
The Mintridge Foundation’s successes demonstrate the incredible power of sport; from a mentee’s selection to represent Great Britain in their chosen field to enabling disabled children to find confidence and happiness just through participation. Understanding life after sport, we also support our Ambassadors in their transition from active sport to the next stage of their careers.
To find out more about the Mintridge Foundation, please contact Alex Wallace.
