At Monday night’s Man of Steel awards, Leeds Rhinos Foundation were named the Foundation of the Year.
The prestigious event honours the best in rugby league, including individual players and clubs from the 2018 season.
Leeds Rhinos Foundation was nominated alongside Hull FC Foundation and Warrington Wolves Foundation and were recognised for the success of the women’s team, the launch of their first Physical Disability Rugby League side as well as the outstanding work done to support schools and community clubs.
Leeds Rhinos Foundation is the official charity of Leeds Rhinos, delivering projects in the heart of the community by harnessing the power of sport to make a lasting, positive impact on individuals' lives.
The charity runs projects under our five principles of Education, Health, Sport, Art and Heritage, working with individuals to deliver important lifestyle messages to inspire others to make positive changes to their own lives.
Under the banner of health, the charity have helped people looking to regain their fitness through their Try Club men’s health programme, their new Active Beyond Cancer rehabilitation course, run in partnership with Yorkshire Cancer Research has supported people in Leeds who have been diagnosed with Cancer and projects such as Rhinos Active Social and the Intouch Dementia group has provided a vital provision for some of the city’s most vulnerable people.
The charity now working with 100 schools to deliver high quality coaching in different sports whilst continuing to offer assemblies on areas such as anti-bullying and team work.
In January Leeds Rhinos Foundation launched their first Physical Disability (PDRL) team who competed in the UK’s first PDRL game. The initiative is part of the charity’s commitment to making sport inclusive and accessible for all and has been a huge success. The charity’s partnership with Aspire CBS has also provided opportunities for people with learning disabilities to access rugby league coaching and take part in events such as Leeds Rhinos Foundations Tag Disability RL Festival.
The education delivery has helped even more people in the last year. The Work Club programme, which aims to help prepare people and get them back in employment has continued to support the local community. The Onside project, delivered in HMP Leeds and Wealstun and HMP & YOI Hatfield has been a ground breaking project for the charity that helps tackle the issue of reoffending.
The Rugby League Development Plan, supported by MEARS, which aims to get more people playing the game has had some major achievements this year, with record numbers taking part in the annual Rhinos Challenge event and Ambassador Festivals. Participation in Women’s Rugby League has continued to increase with more girls taking part in a High School rugby than ever before. The first Leeds Rhinos Women’s team also competed in their first season, winning the Challenge Cup and League Leaders Shield.
Bob Bowman, Chief Operating Officer of Leeds Rhinos Foundation, was there to collect the award and afterwards said: “I am delighted on behalf of Leeds Rhinos Foundation staff team to be awarded this recognition. We all believe passionately in what we do and under our pillars of Education, Sport, Health, Arts and Heritage we are helping people in Leeds.
“It is a great accolade to be recognised in this way, but rest assured we will continue to work hard in the best interests of this great city. I would like to thank all our partners who support us and everyone at the Leeds Rhinos, players and staff for their tremendous help and support.”
Visit http://www.leedsrhinosfoundation.org/home.php for the latest news and information about our projects.