Active Communities Network receives funding from The Racing Foundation to raise awareness of career opportunities in racing
• Active Communities Network (ACN) receives £83,000 from the Racing Foundation towards the Take The Reins (TTR) programme
• TTR aims to raise awareness of career opportunities in racing through a year-round delivery programme accessible to young people across the South and North of England
• Workshops, work experience and training packages will ensure the young people are prepared for any career they look to explore within the racing
ACN are proud to announce that they have received the £83,000 from the Racing Foundation to help make racing more accessible to young people and to introduce them to the exciting world of racing with a view of turning something they enjoy into a career.
ACN, a sport for development charity which uses sport as a pathway into education, training and employment, is one third of the TTR initiative alongside network partners Flying Futures who community interest company working with young people in Doncaster and the north of England and key players in the Horse Racing Industry.
The latest collaboration TTR looks closely at the horse racing industry which employs over 85,000 staff making it the largest sporting employer. TTR delivers a year-round programme of activity alongside local community groups, schools and youth organisations – including research projects, personal development programmes, accredited training courses, ambassador visits, open days and career routes to utilise racing assets to inspire, support and offer opportunities to young people.
The programme which is in it’s second year of development works with partners across the UK including Lingfield Park Race Course, Racing Together, Richard Fahey’s Yard and Northern Racing College to name a few. Additional stakeholders, supporters and funders all help to enhance the offer of TTR as well as increasing the geographic reach.
David Toulson-Burke, Executive Director of Lingfield Park said, ‘Lingfield Park Resort has been involved with the Take The Reins project since its inception over two years ago so we are particularly excited to hear about this funding.
‘To see the young peoples’ faces when they visit us for a Career Day, is enough to persuade anyone that this initiative is more than worthwhile.
‘We are about to offer work-placement schemes to a number of the young people working with Active Communities Network, which will hopefully lead to full-time employment for them, so this couldn’t be better timed.’
Gary Stannett MBE, Chief Executive of Active Communities Network said,
‘TTR is a hugely exciting initiative that offers a very different take for sport for development and employability for young people.
‘We at ACN look forward to taking the programme to the next level with this support from the Racing Foundation and the Racing Industry.
Mark Turner, Founder & Executive Director of Flying Futures said,
‘We're delighted that RF has made the decision to awards the TTR partnership a grant. The partnership has been around the horse racing industry since 2015, working with yards, education establishments and racecourses.
‘This grant awards all us to do more in the industry with a view to exposing more young people to the possibility of a career in racing. ACN would like to thank the Racing Foundation for the funding support which will enable many young people across the UK to have greater access, information, training and employability opportunities which would usually be unfeasible.
