Main fundraiser photo

Hardship Grant and Gymnastics Club

2020 is a year none of us will forget!

Although it has been challenging it has also had some positives.
The profile picture you see is of my daughter, Sophie (Grace when she's traning).  Sophie is passionate about a lot of things but the main sport she has loved since she was 18 months old is gymnastics.  While my husband was furloughed during lockdown (March - October) we had to make some very hard decisions.  One of these was to have a very difficult talk with Sophie about her gymnastics as we couldn't afford to pay for it. Her Deputy Head Teacher at school had told us about the British Gymnastics Foundation Hardship Grant; so we had applied for it in the hopes of being able to fund her training for a few months whilst waiting for furlough to end.  We had a talk , we explained she may have to stop her gymnastics and when dropping her off to what we thought was her last training session for a while I received an email.  I cried as I read that it told me the British Gymnastics Foundation had awarded Sophie the Hardship Grant. I cannot tell you the relief of being able to tell my child she could remain in the sport that she has loved for 6 years, she cried too. She had been so worried she wouldnt be able to continue with her squad and to her, Revolution Gymnastics Club and her coaches are like a second family.  For a 7 year old who is in the GFA Squad she works her socks off, she trains 4 hours a week as well as conditioning 3 times a week at home. 

Sophie asked what we could do to help raise money for The British Gymnastics Foundation Hardship Grant and her gym.  She wants other children who are also facing difficult times to be able to continue with their beloved sport and also to help the parents who, like us, dread having to take away the one sport their child is in love with.  In some cases it can be detrimental to their mental health as well as their physical well being.

Our hands have been tied slightly due to lockdown number 2 but Sophie has had some amazing ideas.

Sophie plans to practice and perform a floor routine that she has written on her own and chosen the song to do it along to.  She has also said she would like to do a handstand challenge.  This entails her holding a handstand every day (against a wall/door) for as long as possible for a week to not only show that if you put your mind to it nothing is impossible and that if you work really hard you do get positive results.

We're hoping she can practice and perform her routine before christmas , this will be posted on a dedicated Facebook Page (link to be posted) and her handstand achievements will also be posted there for you to be able to see how she has progressed and just how much she loves her sport.

The Hardship Grant is only made possible by donations and support through the British Gymnastics Foundation Charity, so every penny is going towards helping a child to remain within their sport.

As I said previously - Revolution Gymnastics Club is like a second home to Sophie.  She has asked to make a small donation to the club to help with new equipment.

As they say every penny counts so if you're able to support us with a share of this page or a donation of any amount it will all be greatly appreciated.  We also have our campaign video on our page so you can see just how your money will be spent to help support the children who need it.

I can only thank you in advance for reading this far and for the kindness we have recieved both from The British Gymnastics Foundation and Revolution Gymnastics Club. 

We are so proud of our Grace and her determination! She reminds us everyday that if at first you dont succeed try try again.

Please feel free to follow us on our fundraising journey on Sophies Fundraising page on the link below :
https://www.facebook.com/Sophies-fundraising-page-101439885151536/

Organizer

Lucy Kennedy
Organizer

Your easy, powerful, and trusted home for help

  • Easy

    Donate quickly and easily.

  • Powerful

    Send help right to the people and causes you care about.

  • Trusted

    Your donation is protected by the  GoFundMe Giving Guarantee.