The English Table Tennis Association (ETTA) has received a new grant from the Jack Petchey Foundation (JPF) to extend the table donation project into a fourth year.
The partnership between the ETTA and the JPF has flourished over the last three years with thousands of secondary school children benefitting from access to tables, competitions and materials to help increase their personal, social and physical development.
The new grant, of just over £173k, will be put towards rolling out 200 new tennis tables to a further 50 schools across the capital (with ten in Essex) as well as an additional 20 outdoor tables to seven schools in London and three in Essex.
Sara Sutcliffe, ETTA CEO, said: “It’s great news to hear that the Jack Petchey Foundation are continuing their support of table tennis in London. The work they have done over the last three years has helped enormously in providing opportunities for secondary school children across the capital to take part in our sport.”
Sophie Olyphant, ETTA Children and Young Persons Project Officer, added: “The Jack Petchey Table Tennis Programme has had such a massive impact on table tennis in London, it’s fantastic to be able to continue this partnership for another year.
“I am really proud to be able to encourage young people to gain new skills through volunteering at our events and taking part in training courses at their school, all because of the generosity of the Jack Petchey Foundation and the work of the ETTA.”
As part of the Jack Petchey Foundation project, schools will also benefit from additional training courses and table tennis materials as part of a balanced programme aimed at both improving table tennis skills and enhancing the participant’s personal development.
Trudy Kilcullen, Chief Executive Officer for Jack Petchey Foundation, said: “The Jack Petchey Foundation is proud of our partnership with ETTA which to date has enabled over 6000 young people to regularly engage in table tennis.
“For us the focus isn’t just on improving table tennis skills it is also about helping young people to engage in sports activity, to develop their confidence and self-discipline – all whilst using their time constructively.”
Written by Russell Moore (February 4, 2014)