Dear Friends of Sporting Chance,
It seems fitting that my final contribution to this mailout also comes on its one-year anniversary, having helped to set up Friends of Sporting Chance in October 2021. It seems like a good legacy to be leaving.
I will shortly be leaving Sporting Chance and my role as Education Officer to move onto another role elsewhere, and whilst this will be a big step up for me it is a little bittersweet as I will greatly miss working at Sporting Chance and being part of such a wonderful organisation.
Within my professional career it has always been my ambition to work in a role where I really felt that I was making a difference to others and having a positive impact on people. Sporting Chance has allowed me to do just that, communicating the importance of mental health through education sessions, social media and marketing materials and helping sportspeople to look after their mental health and make positive changes within their lives.
This is a charity that puts humans first and that fundamentally cares about people, seeing them as a whole rather than just their sporting successes, something that I feel the rest of the world could do a lot better.
One of my favourite projects during my time at Sporting Chance has been the rollout of our WSL DiSE education programme to female academy footballers. It was the first time we had done education to this group and the feedback we received was overwhelmingly positive. Whilst the sessions were all conducted online, with the use of Slido we were able to have a really high level of interaction with the players who were really open and honest with regards to what they were struggling with. We also had the benefit of coming back for a second session with each group, tailoring it to the things they had said they were struggling with. This was a particular passion for me, having been a female athlete myself, I felt I could relate to what these young female athletes were going through and pass on some of the things that I have learnt over the years.
I’d like to thank everyone at Sporting Chance for welcoming me into the organisation and for being so supportive of me moving on. This move wouldn’t have been possible without me having had the opportunities I have had whilst working here and I will miss everyone at the charity greatly.
I hope that Friends of Sporting Chance continues to grow after I have left and that you are all able to continue sharing the work that we do and the services that we provide with those that are eligible for and that need them.
I am still, and always will be, a Friend of Sporting Chance.
All the best,
Ellie