Funding boost for free netball sessions

The money has come from enfinium Kelvin, an energy from waste facility being constructed in Sandwell.

AnyGirl Netball brings free and accessible netball sessions to women and girls in Sandwell borough.

The funding has been awarded as part of a £50,000 Community Benefit Fund from enfinium’s Kelvin facility at Kelvin Way, West Bromwich.

AnyGirl Netball, founded in 2021, provides young women and girls with an empowering and safe environment in which to express themselves, enjoy netball, and access mentoring and support. The sessions also provide snacks and refreshments to ensure participants are adding nutritional value to their lives too.

With 100 girls already registered, the grant will mean AnyGirl Netball can provide even more engaging and inclusive sessions during 2024.

Daisy Cotterill, director at AnyGirl Netball, said: “There are very limited female-only sports projects within Sandwell, so we really want to engage and support the women and young girls in the area as much as we can. We’re really grateful to enfinium for their support with this grant – it means we can reach out to so many more potential new netball players and provide them with a safe environment to make friends, stay active and learn new skills.”

Robert Foster, plant manager at enfinium Kelvin, said: “It’s important to us that our commitment to Sandwell runs deep into the communities in which we’ll be operating. While we’re already creating new jobs and generating new opportunities for local businesses, we also want to be good neighbours to our community and to the people who live and work there. That’s why we’re delighted to be supporting the fantastic work that AnyGirl Netball does in enriching the lives of young women and girls through sport. We look forward to seeing how our grant – and the other grants we have made and will continue to make across Sandwell in the coming months and years – makes a positive impact on the local community.”

enfinium’s £50,000 community benefit fund has been made available to community groups and organisations in Sandwell and the surrounding area through enfinium Kelvin, which is currently under construction and scheduled for completion in 2025.

Applications to enfinium’s Community Benefit Fund are open and will be accepted from projects or organisations that will directly benefit the communities neighbouring the facility’s site. Organisations who are based outside of this area are also eligible to apply for grants, as long as they can prove how the award of funding will have a beneficial impact on these communities. Applications are welcomed from registered charities, schools, places of learning, not-for-profit companies, community organisations and groups – including those supported by public funding.

All applications must demonstrate that the project or event in question will either deliver environmental benefits (such as the promotion of clean energy, waste reduction and/or recycling improvements), improve standards of health, safety and wellbeing or enhance the wider community. This could mean promoting skills and educational development, environmental improvements or activity that helps boost community cohesion.

Application criteria and application forms can be downloaded from the project website enfinium.co.uk/facilities/kelvin