Newport Gwent Dragons and Welsh rugby legend, Colin Charvis, today put his brunt behind a project funded by the Big Lottery Fund to combat racism in Wales.
The Show Racism the Red Card organisation has been awarded £161,328 under the Big Lottery Fund’s People and Places programme, which aims to bring people together to make communities stronger and to improve rural and urban environments.
The money will be spent on a project to expand and build on the existing work of the organisation across the whole of Wales by delivering anti-racism workshops, competitions and awareness raising activities through the medium of sport to young people.
By encouraging young people to enter schools competitions, take part in sporting activities and working with sports stars, the project will help to get the message across that racism is unacceptable and help tackle social exclusion and build social cohesion.
The aim is to increase the number of young people from BME communities to participate in sports, as well as improving the health of young people. By working with sports clubs, it will also support young people who want to take part in coaching courses.
Recent figures from Cardiff Council show that racist incidents in Cardiff schools have increased by 16% since 2003. The project will support Cardiff Council, who has been actively working with other relevant organisations, to tackle racism head on.
In a show of support, Wales rugby player, Colin Charvis, today welcomed the news. He recently visited Downing Street where he was inducted into the esteemed ‘Show Racism the Red Card’ Hall of Fame by Prime Minister Gordon Brown, in an awards ceremony to recognise the contribution of sporting role models in the fight against racism. This is the latest honour for the 17stone 9lb 35-year-old who skippered the Dragons rugby region all last season and holds 94 Welsh caps as well as two caps for the British and Irish Lions.
"I am thrilled that the Big Lottery Fund in Wales has supported the 'Show Racism the Red Card' organisation with a substantial grant,” explained Colin, who is the leading try scorer among all Welsh forwards.
“The charity is one that I have been involved with for a number of years, since my time with Newcastle Falcons, and I was honoured to receive the Hall of Fame recognition from Prime Minister Gordon Brown at Downing Street earlier this summer.
He added: "It is important for me to get involved with raising awareness of racism through the medium of sport and educate young people across Wales. The 'Show racism the Red Card' charity delivers excellent anti-racism projects throughout the country and the Big Lottery Fund in Wales' contribution will help the charity to continue with the superb work that they do.”
Colin Charvis is joined by Wales’ international football stars Ryan Giggs, Robbie Earnshaw, Danny Gabbidon and Simon Davies in support of the campaign.
Delighted with the award, the founder of the ‘Show Racism the Red Card’ campaign and UK project Co-ordinator, Ged Grebby, said: “This grant will make a massive difference to our organisation in Wales, allowing us to reach thousands more people with our anti-racist message. It is the largest grant our Welsh organisation has ever had and will allow us to really build on the great work we have already done in Wales. “
Highlighting the importance of the People and Places programme, Big Lottery Fund Wales Committee Member and Chair of the People and Places Committee, Janet Reed, said: “Programmes like People and Places are making a difference to the lives of so many people in communities across Wales. It delivers on our promise to use Lottery funding to regenerate and revitalise communities, tackle disadvantage head on and leave a lasting legacy. I’m sure this project will have a positive impact on the lives of many people in the community and will continue to do so for years to come."
The £66 million People and Places programme awards grants of between £5,001 and £1 million for a broad range of community projects. For further information about the People and Places programme and how you can apply for funding, please visit www.biglotteryfund.org.uk and use the ‘Wales’ specific search facility.
