Raheem Sterling made a surprise visit to his former Wembley Park school last Wednesday (Nov 16th) to unveil The Raheem Sterling Foundation.
The Foundation is focused on providing education, employment and social mobility to young people who face challenges in achieving their goals and full potential. This includes investment into vocational support as well as business and enterprise initiatives. The Foundation will prioritise projects in Brent, Manchester and Kingston, Jamaica.
To mark the launch of the Foundation, school children from Ark Elvin Academy followed a Power of 7 trail – a one mile walk from their school to Wembley Stadium, following the transformed Olympic Way. The trail concluded at the recently unveiled Olympic Steps that lead to Wembley Stadium, where they had a surprise visit from Raheem himself.
On their walk they encountered seven plinths that told the story of Raheem’s personal journey as the #BoyFromBrent to global sporting superstar, and shared further information on the foundation’s purpose and vision for the future. The number seven is significant to the Foundation, being Raheem’s playing number and the number of pillars that underpin the organisation.
Wembley Park was selected as the location for the Power of 7 trail owing to its significance to Raheem, as both the area in which he grew up and the destination he now plays football for his country.
Raheem Sterling, says:
"My foundation is built on my experiences, successes and the many challenges I have overcome. I now want to help young people achieve and be the best they can be. That’s why I wanted to launch my foundation in Brent, with my former school in Wembley Park.
"It is a place that has helped shape me personally and professionally, and represents what can be achieved with the right belief, support and opportunities. Wherever my career takes me, Brent will always be a cornerstone of the Foundation."
Wembley Park’s transformation from largely car and coach parks to a thriving 365-day a year neighbourhood in North West London, echoes the story of change and progress of Raheem Sterling’s journey to becoming a local Brent hero. One of the largest urban transformations in Europe, community underpins Wembley Park, from access to free art and culture, to year-round programming at local community centre, The Yellow.
James Saunders, Chief Executive of Quintain, the team behind the transformation of Wembley Park, says:
“We are proud to be supporting the launch of the Raheem Sterling Foundation and hosting the Power of 7 trail at Wembley Park. This initiative builds on Wembley Park’s ambition to bring investment, new opportunities and apprenticeships to young people in Brent, benefitting the surrounding area economically, socially and culturally.
"Our community is fortunate to have an inspiring role model in Raheem Sterling, and it is an honour to be involved in an initiative that aims to inspire local young people in the wider Brent neighbourhood.”
As part of the Foundation launch, Raheem today announced the first two fully funded initiatives in collaboration with Headspace (https://www.headspace.com/raheem) and Brent based The Promise Foundation (https://www.thepromisefoundation.org.uk/about/) who will deliver mentoring programmes across the borough starting at the Ark Elvin Academy.
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