The Greig City Sailing Academy Programme, provides an opportunity for disadvantaged young people from Tottenham to get involved in sailing. Sailing has historically been considered a sport of the rich and privileged. Greig City Sailing Academy has shown that sailing can captivate the minds of young people from all backgrounds and provide personal development opportunities to improve lives.

The sailing world has been hugely supportive of the programme, providing cash funding and value in kind, with much of the fundraising being done by the students themselves. The programme also benefits from the huge dedication of the teachers and coaches, most of whom receive no payment for their time.

Longer term, the sailing project is confident of their financial position and have set of coaches, teachers and trustees who have considerable fund raising experience. However, there is a short term funding problem going into the 2021/2022 academic year that stems from the disruption caused by COVID-19.

Sport England have allocated £50,000 to the programme next year, however there is a requirement to raise £130,000 in order to unlock this funding. £70,000 of this target will be raised through the Greig Trust, long term corporate partner Dual Group, Silicon Cup and Tottenham Grammar School Foundation. That leaves £60,000 to be raised (£48,000 when you take Gift Aid into account).

By supporting this appeal, you will be supporting one of the most unique and impactful sport for development programmes that i have come across. Sailing is sport that can provide incredible opportunities for personal development, as well as inspiration for careers in the marine industry and engineering.