Transforming lives: Places for People and StreetGames empower young people through sport

Thirteen organisations behind the StreetGames partnership have reached a new milestone, boosting healthier communities by helping almost 2000 young people access sport.   

Places Foundation – part of the UK’s leading social enterprise Places for People (PfP) – teamed up with StreetGames, a national charity who provide access to sport and physical activity for young people, to invest in sport in PfP local communities to improve young people’s access to exercise.   

Building on the success of previous years, StreetGames and PfP expanded the campaign in 2024 to include six more areas across England taking the total to 13, to include Leeds, Hull, Preston, Bedford, Huntingdon and St Neots.   

StreetGames and PfP partnered in 2021 and developed a ‘doorstep sport’ approach to improve the access to sport that is proven to have multiple positive impacts on young people growing up in disadvantaged communities. By applying the five rights of doorstep sport – place, price, time, people and style, all organisations have contributed to enhancing the lives of young people across the targeted areas.   

To ensure the scheme would have long-term impacts, PfP and StreetGames identified a number of locally trusted organisations (LTOs) and commissioned them to undertake the delivery of doorstep sport. These organisations are stable and trusted by the local community, they build partnerships, relationships and connections locally, have good governance and are able to demonstrate the impact of their work.   

Jamie Dickinson, Group Head of Social Impact at Places Foundation, commented: “We are delighted to have so far engaged 1962 young people across England to get access to low-cost sport and support healthy, happy and active lives.    

“We see the direct impact of poor health on our communities and we take our responsibility to support the improvement of national health and wellbeing through access to physical activity seriously. Our project offering has been shaped by our insights from our customers through our annual Wellbeing Surveys and are targeted to our regions through our Community Connectors to young people who can be traditionally hard to reach. We know that some people don’t have access to leisure centres, and this is one of the ways that we work in partnership with different organisations to deliver a variety of initiatives to improve their health and wellbeing.”  

Across the 13 communities, 786 sessions have been delivered in total, involving 90 volunteers, and 45 young people have been supported into training and 10 into work. 

Stuart Felce, UK Director, Strategic Business Relationships at StreetGames, said: “Reaching nearly 2,000 young people across 13 communities is a milestone we’re incredibly proud of. This partnership has shown what’s possible when sport is brought directly to young people’s doorsteps in a way that’s accessible, inclusive, and rooted in local trust. The impact has been real and lasting—boosting confidence, improving wellbeing, and opening up new pathways into training and employment. It’s a brilliant example of how sport can be a force for good in the places that need it most.” 

Kamran Khan from the Junior Sports Hub in Leeds said: “This project has provided a safe and secure space for women and girls in Harehills to allow them to engage in sport and fitness. Their confidence has improved so much over the project and the variety of sports they’ve been able to participate in has been great for their fitness. Some of the girls really took initiative of the project and became natural leaders throughout, building the confidence of other girls. Seeing the girls improve their physical and mental health as well as their self-confidence was the most vital part of the project and one thing we want to carry on in our organisation.” 

Since its launch, StreetGames has supported 14 schemes with numerous partnerships across 13 communities in England where PfP manages properties. The sessions were designed to tackle local issues, such as a lack of existing provision and anti-social behaviour in the area, with the overall aim of improving the lives of each community.  

Jamie Dickinson, continues: “We’re extremely proud of the success of this project and our partnership with all the organisations that have made this happen. Our Places Foundation team has taken the message of the project to the heart of our communities, and we’re looking forward to building on the success of our community engagement model with more regions in the future. We are committed to making a real difference to the lives of our customers who need it most, and partnerships like this are not only improving health and wellbeing but are also a great way to bring communities together.”  

The 13 areas where schemes have been delivered so far are Newcastle, Preston, Leeds, Hull, Sheffield, Nottingham, Derby, Huntingdon, St Neots, Bedford, Haringey, Hounslow and Bristol. 

Read the full Project Report to find out more.