At the end of last week, we launched our #771 challenge. 7 friends, 7 days, one marathon. As you will be aware, many funding events have been cancelled and so many of our community fundraisers have been unable to complete their 5ks half marathons and marathons to raise money to allow us to continue supporting young people through sport. 771 was an opportunity for them to put their training to use and for you to get involved and raise some money too.
We couldn’t have ever imagined what a positive event it would become, all thanks to you guys.
A little (ok, pretty big) Mintridge #winoftheweek is thanks to two of our amazing community fundraisers. They weren’t going to let a little thing like a worldwide pandemic get in the way of all their training and they certainly didn’t want to let everyone who sponsored them down.
The Sunday Times first learnt of The Mintridge Foundation when our founder, Alex Wallace (nee Paske) was awarded the Sunday Times Sportswoman of the Year - Grassroots award. This was a huge moment for Alex personally (for whom The Mintridge Foundation and the work they do is a passion) and a small charity such as The Mintridge Foundation. Little did she know at the time that this award would lead onto such an incredible partnership.
We at the Mintridge Foundation felt that we couldn’t just shut up shop until this all blows over. Therefore, we have had to adapt and change the way we work. Luckily for us, sport has taught us, our partners and our ambassadors the skills of adapting and resilience already, so we were already half-way there.
It was a great start to our weekend for Team Mintridge, as we attended St Christopher’s School for their first football festival with the amazing Rachel Yankey OBE. We were so excited for an afternoon of football, fun and matches with our experienced former England and Arsenal player.
It was a wonderful day for Team Mintridge, as we returned to Roedean School for a jam-packed day of netball skills, drills, tactics and workshops with the amazing England Roses and Saracens Mavericks Superleague netball captain, Sasha Corbin.
In the wake of International Women’s Day 2020, we at Mintridge HQ are feeling proud, inspired and grateful to be women. For us, this is actually a fairly regular feeling though, as we work daily with some incredible female athletes who are amazing ambassadors for Mintridge and advocates for women in sport. Many of whom have joined the powerful #Unlocked Campaign with our friends at the Women’s Sport Trust. This week, however, we were scrolling through Facebook and up popped the Atlantic Campaign’s International Women’s Day video featuring the faces of Jemma and Lauren or, as they’re also known, team Whale of a Time.
We were delighted to be welcomed back to Clifton High School on the evening of Thursday 5th March, for a wonderful Sports Awards evening with our partners Squadkit. It is always great for Team Mintridge to hear about the success stories and sporting accolades that have been achieved by the students throughout the year.
This Thursday we are thankful to five of our incredible Mintridge supporters. On Sunday, when many of us were having a Sunday lie-in or tucking into a lazy brunch in our PJs (or doing the first of their miles for #MovingMarch), Tara, Georgina, Alasdair, Katie and Francie were braving Storm Jorge and pounding the streets of London in the challenging Vitality Big Half 2020 half marathon.
This week’s #ThankfulThursday isn’t strictly a charity partner. It’s a huge thank you to all of our community fundraisers. It’s a thank you to everyone who has done something to raise vital funds for The Mintridge Foundation or is planning to do so. Whether this is by running a half marathon, cycling 100 miles in the RideLondon-Surrey 100 (sponsor Norm here), rowed the Atlantic, run a pub quiz, attended one of our events, donated directly via our website or Facebook.
Team Mintridge paid an extra special visit to the staff and students at Sir Christopher Hatton Academy on their first week back after half term. As part of this extra special Silver Mentoring Programme, we visited the school with our fantastic Basketball Ambassador Asma Elbadawi, who is also a global adidas ambassador and spoken word poet. We were delighted that the school were able to benefit from this wonderful Programme, all thanks to the kind support from The Sudborough Foundation, who we are very grateful to for their donation.
Sometimes the simplest things are the most effective and, upon first impressions, Crazy Catch is a simple piece of kit, a rebound net to be used in training. It is a credit to Crazy Catch that their products seem so simple because, upon closer inspection, their easy-to-use nets are a masterpiece in design and functionality. We don’t wish to blow our own trumpets, but we think our partnership is a masterpiece in simplicity, design and functionality too.
It was a wonderful Wednesday for Team Mintridge, as we returned to Benenden School for a jam-packed day of netball skills, drills, tactics and workshops with our amazing Commonwealth gold medallist and England Roses netball player, Eboni Usoro-Brown.
As all of our ambassadors know, exercise is only part of what gets you to your physical peak. Alongside exercise comes nutrition and fuelling your body with what it needs to function at such high levels. The relationship between nutrition and sport is also what links Nibble Protein and the Mintridge Foundation.
Squadkit have been one of our biggest supporters and corporate partners and, when you see their core values of participation, wellbeing, commitment to yourself and your team-mates, endurance and fun, it’s easy to see why.
When you look up the definition of ‘thankful’, you will see the definition ‘happy or grateful because of something,’ or words to that effect. To say that we are ‘thankful’ to our corporate partners seems to be a little bit of an understatement though. Without their ongoing support, we would not be able to impact the lives of so many young people every year.
The cold and frosty morning that graced the UK on Saturday 18th January was not putting the Gresham’s Netballers off from donning their trainers and making their way across to the Sports Hall to greet the one and only Eboni Usoro – Brown as she was there to lead a Mintridge Silver Programme throughout the day.
