Blackburn YZ collaborate with Blackburn Rovers Community Trust

Blackburn Rovers Community Trust and Blackburn Youth Zone have entered a new partnership to provide a full programme of inclusive sports provision to thousands of young people.

Across the OnSide network, our Youth Zones recognise that they deliver the best services for young people when they work in partnership with local voluntary and statutory organisations.

In an arrangement that brings two of the biggest youth engagement charitable organisations in Blackburn into an organised partnership, Blackburn Rovers Community Trust will be taking on a strong presence at Blackburn Youth Zone, providing coaching, mentoring and participation opportunities across a range of exciting sports opportunities.

The two parties have already been working together closely for a number of years, making the new setup a logical extension of a strong working relationship.

“Our team will be able to work hand-in-hand with the excellent team that’s already in place at Blackburn Youth Zone, ensuring that we can provide opportunities that otherwise might not be readily available to youngsters in this area.”

Hannah Allen, Chief Executive at Blackburn Youth Zone, says:

“We are delighted with what this growth of partnership will present to both our members and young people of the Borough. At Blackburn Youth Zone, one of the most important parts of our work is to inspire young people by providing opportunities for members to develop a passion for something – we believe that this can be truly life-changing.

“We strive to ensure that young people have access to world class facilities and activities that are affordable, engaging and inclusive. Having Blackburn Rovers Community Trust in partnership with our team delivering the sports offer will strengthen our provision, providing the best possible opportunities for young people.

“Both Blackburn Youth Zone and Blackburn Rovers Community Trust share a vision and commitment to inspire and regenerate a generation, to raise aspirations of young people and we are delighted that we can collaborate in this way.”

Her counterpart at Blackburn Rovers Community Trust, Gary Robinson, is pleased to have reached an agreement for the benefit of the entire young population of Blackburn with Darwen and surrounding areas, he explains:

“Our mission statement is ‘inspiring change within our community’ and there are few better places within our area where we can look to offer such positive opportunities for such a large number of young people.

“We hope that we can inspire them to get involved with an exciting selection of sporting opportunities that are accessible to all, with potential opportunities to go on and play in representative tournaments against teams representing other similar organisations.

“The key thing is that children and young adults within Blackburn with Darwen have access to high-quality sports provision in a central location, and this arrangement certainly ensures that the two partners can offer this to thousands of beneficiaries.”

Click here to get in touch about working in partnership with a Youth Zone near you.