A Bristol charity has been recognised for its work in using sport to help at-risk young people during both Covid-19 lockdowns.

The team behind Empire Fighting Chance have been nominated as a 'Covid Heroes' in an initiative that local media company Bristol Live is running in partnership with Amazon to recognise those people within local communities who have stepped up when most needed.

SUPPORT

The charity has been working for nearly two decades with young people aged between eight and 25 from deprived communities who have a range of behavioural and emotional issues, including anger, anxiety, depression and low self-esteem.

During the first lockdown earlier this year, they moved their services online and worked with 636 young people up until July, while also launching a content hub where various types of support could be accessed.

And last week alone they worked with 425 young people across Bristol and South Wales.

CHALLENGES

Co-founder Jamie Sanigar told Bristol Live: “Those who face a wide range of challenges, including being at the risk of exclusion from school, getting involved in criminality and suffering with their mental health need us more than ever.

“Once lockdown happened, we had to switch everything to working remotely. It’s not ideal, but at that stage it was that or nothing. And we weren't prepared to go with the latter.”

Visit the Empire Fighting Chance page on the ConnectSport directory. To add your organisation for free, email hello@connectsport.co.uk.