What should summer holidays look like for a ten-year-old? Jam-packed with fun, healthy activities – & excitement about going to a new school. Sadly, too many kids spend the time indoors, inactive, apprehensive & alone. FC GIO aims to change this. Islington is a borough where London’s richest & poorest residents exist side by side. But for many of its at-risk children summer is the unhealthiest time of year. Their activity levels drop drastically, with far fewer recreational opportunities than better-off peers. That means poorer children start at a new school with less confidence, worse concentration & poorer health. FC GIO intervenes at this crucial stage, giving kids a vital boost when they need it most with a 5-day programme designed specifically to help them embark on this new chapter in their life with enthusiasm & confidence. Ex-Arsenal star Giovanni Van Bronckhorst has covered the costs of designing & delivering the programme, but we need your help to get over the finish line

What we'll deliver:

• Deliver a fun, free, five-day summer programme to 30 at-risk children leaving primary school in the Arsenal area;
• Host a breakfast club offering a free breakfast, and provide free lunch to each child
• Introduce children to the range of professions and opportunities after school through company visits and workshops
• Use FC GIO, Gio’s profile & network to encourage other footballers and athletes, to support their communities
• Help children build confidence in their own ability and plan for success through daily mentoring sessions
• Nurture a winning mentality in kids, so they start secondary school with confidence and excited about their future
• Offer training to local coaches, youth workers and teachers to share experiences and best practice and build capacity
• Provide daily boxing and football sessions to teach core life skills like discipline, decision-making, & communication
• Provide daily educational sessions to improve literacy, numeracy and other core academic skills

Why it's a great idea:

Starting school is daunting for every child. But kids from poorer backgrounds are often made to face this challenge having already fallen behind at school, in poor health & lacking confidence. What chance do those kids have of finishing top of the class in school and in life? We spoke to head teachers, youth workers, parents, coaches & kids in Islington, and wrote to councillors in every Ward. We then designed a programme that: • combines healthy activities & education, targeting kids before they start secondary school, because that is a pivotal moment for those who have fallen behind; • is accessible for those kids who need it most: in Islington, some of the most deprived children miss out because their better-off peers are more efficient at accessing programmes; • starts at 08:30, to accommodate families with less money and support; • builds on inspiring stories of our footballing heroes: Gio grew up in one of the poorest estates in Europe, but made it to the top of his game.

Steps to get it done:

• Celebrating and marking success through closing ceremony and family party
• Delivering daily boxing and football sessions to 30 kids
• Delivering daily educational and/or professional development sessions to 30 kids
• Delivering daily mentoring sessions to 30 kids
• Encouraging parents to understand and promote physical and mental wellbeing of their child
• Publishing report on successes and learnings
• Recruiting FC GIO Coaches
• Recruiting kids who need FC GIO most through inclusion officers in schools, councillors, youth clubs etc
• Securing Venue
• Training FC GIO Coaches
• Feeding 30 underprivileged kids with nutritious food throughout FC GIO
• Obtaining necessary sporting and educational equipment and kit
• Spreading the word to other potential activators around the area

FC GIO will be delivered in partnership with local charity Access to Sports and Arsenal in the Community, ensuring the programme meets their high standards of efficacy, good governance and safeguarding, and builds on their local expertise & sustainability. Working together means those kids who need support most will have somewhere to go after FC GIO has ended. This is how your money could help: £10 pays for basic home education pack for one child £25 buys a first aid kit £50 feeds a child breakfast & lunch for the week £100 buys medals for all the kids at our closing ceremony £225 pays for all parents to receive a home education pack, including details of our methodology, their child's progress and advice on local support services £300 sponsors a child for the full week! £500 pays for all the educational materials needed to teach every child £650 pays for all our sporting equipment (to be donated to the kids at the end); £1000 will pay for our closing ceremony and family party