The idea was fully endorsed by the membership of the CSR Group in December, and we are now working towards raising the £100,000 that is needed to make the event happen in July 2009, and that’s just for this year - the plan is to do this every year up to 2012 (and beyond?). I would love to see this project become something that binds together everyone working on the London 2012 Games.
There are many things to take into account. As a group, we need to work with organisations such as Sport England and the Host Borough sporting bodies to make sure we dovetail with any other projects that are going on as we prepare for 2012. How to select the children is, in itself, a major piece of activity. I didn’t know that most disabled children are now mainstreamed into the education system as opposed to attending special schools. It will also be important to make sure that any children who are identified as having the potential to represent Great Britain are fully supported afterwards. Perhaps more importantly, those children who just have a great time trying sport, maybe for the first time, should have access to sports facilities when they return home.
Nonetheless, we are all determined that this will be an event that the children will remember for a long time. To help, one of the contractors has already agreed to let one of their graduates work full-time with us as we make the necessary arrangements. It will be a very tall order to raise the amount of money we need before July but I am sure we can do it.
As an example, last week, I had the pleasure in taking part in a quiz evening put on by the contractors building the Olympic Stadium. Sixteen teams were involved, made of representatives from different departments and contractors. The event was held in a community centre on the Isle of Dogs and a great time was had by all. The topics covered by the questions ranged from music and current affairs, through to the history of Olympic and Paralympic Games. Unfortunately, my team didn’t win (or even come close to winning) but it didn't matter because the key thing was that over £600 was raised for the project. It also proved that fundraising can be fun.
Me at the fundraising night:
