Local youngsters hit the slopes

The Arsenal Foundation helped Urban Hope, a local charity that provides drop-in sessions and support in schools for youngsters, send two youngsters to learn how to become ski/snowboard instructors. Urban Hope’s Mathew Barber tells us how it happened 

“I have been the Youth Work Director for Urban Hope for the last five years, supporting young people in secondary school and running three drop-in youth club sessions a week for ages ranging from eight to 19. Our work is focused on young people having fun and learning how to build positive mental health in their lives.

“We had been working the youth charity Snow Camp for a number of years, partly because of my own love of snow sports and wanting young people to try something they might have thought was out of reach. We’d taken a number of young people to a two days of taster sessions in the summer, and Snow Camp run courses for young people who enjoy the taster sessions to progress through. Two of our youngsters were selected from a number of willing volunteers to take part in the final course, where they would learn to become ski/snowboard instructors. 

“The two young people who took part were both from deprived areas of Islington and have had difficult early years, with both impacted by the pandemic. One of them really struggled with their mental health through Covid, and had a hard time with school. 

“The course was spread over eight weeks. It included improving their ski and snowboard ability, plus learning how to teach other and others to snowboard and ski. Each week they were at the Snow Centre in Hemel Hempstead, they would spend time in a classroom looking at the theory of teaching, working on improving their own mental health and building positive relationships with people from across London. They also spent time on the slopes working on their own skills. 

“One of them went on the trip to Italy, where they were able to ski on a real mountain and learn from local instructors. They spent the day learning teaching skills and even managed to ski down a black (very difficult) slope by the end of the week. They went along with young people from across the UK doing the same thing and sharing their experience. The other youngster was unable to go to Italy but had an opportunity to gain work experience at the Snow Centre. 

“Both of the participants grew in confidence throughout the whole project. One of them was able overcome their fears – they were initially scared of going on the main slope, but by the end of the course they were confident on it. 

“I think it’s great that The Arsenal Foundation makes donations to local charities. It helped us access a project that we would not have been able to any other way, and it provided young people with new opportunities that they may never have thought of. 

“It really shows that Arsenal is invested in the local community and wants to give back in ways that you would not have thought about. It helps to build communities in more ways than just by watching football.”

For more on Urban Hope click here, and if you fancy a go on the slopes yourself visit thesnowcentre.com for more info on bookings, events and conferences

Community Stories Urban Hope