Fulham Reach Boat Club: closing the ‘holiday gap’
Fulham Reach Boat Club’s vision is ‘Rowing for All’. One of the ways it fulfils its vision is by offering free watersports weeks during the summer holidays.
The summer holidays can be difficult for many families. According to Feed London, 400,000 children in London are facing holiday hunger. Families on a low income may also not be able to afford holiday clubs and other activities. When combined with a lack of green spaces and safe places to play, this means that some young people stay home for much of the holidays, leading to social isolation.
Charities are helping to close the ‘holiday gap’ in Hammersmith & Fulham by offering free or heavily subsidised activities and lunches. Several HUC grant-holders are involved, including DanceWest, Nourish Hub, HCGA and Fulham Reach Boat Club.
Julia Philipson, Fundraising Manager at Fulham Reach Boat Club, shares, “Whilst their better-off peers might be doing all sorts of fun things, those activities usually aren’t accessible to disadvantaged children. So, they suffer from summer learning loss. Some are also at risk of being pulled into crime, partly due to holiday hunger.”
The boat club runs free watersports weeks during the summer and Easter school holidays for children in Hammersmith & Fulham who receive the Pupil Premium.
Julia says, “Our charitable programmes are for people in our community who may not ordinarily be able to access blue spaces in London or indeed access any kind of physical activities outside of school. It’s not about finding the next Olympic champions like Helen Glover or Mohammed Sbihi, it’s about getting children out onto the water for their physical and mental health.”
As well as rowing and other sports, the young people receive breakfast, a snack and a hot lunch prepared by Sam’s Riverside restaurant. They’re also taught water safety and basic first aid, and athletes often give talks on mindset, nutrition and other topics.
Along with the holiday clubs, the charity runs six-week programmes for disadvantaged children and teenagers from 11 secondary schools within Hammersmith & Fulham and three schools from neighbouring boroughs. The programmes are heavily subsidised, as the boat club fundraises to cover most of the costs.
Julia says, “Many of the children have multiple barriers to accessing watersports. They might have been told they’re no good at sport for example, but if you can’t catch, kick or throw a ball, you can still enjoy rowing. And maybe that will give you the confidence to try other activities. So, as well as benefiting children physically, it’s helping to change those negative self-perceptions.
“One boy brought his family down and told them all about the club and what he’d learnt. He also came in recently to thank the junior coach for the opportunity and for helping him to see things differently.”
The boat club tries to be as accessible as possible. Many of the young people who take part in the clubs aren’t strong swimmers. Others have special educational needs or disabilities. Julia recalls one boy who had a visual impairment. “He came down for a morning to try it and ended up really enjoying the experience. He came numerous times over the summer holidays and is now a junior member. He’s a very good rower.”
Fulham Reach Boat Club provides a few bursaries each year for young people who’ve enjoyed the free clubs and who want to keep rowing. The bursaries cover all costs, including competition fees.
The boat club’s other target beneficiaries are prisoners. Julia explains, “One of our team members, Imogen Walsh, had a chance meeting with an ex-prisoner at another boat club, who shared their story of how they’d transformed their life through rowing. That inspired Imogen to set up our Boats Not Bars programme, which helps to rehabilitate prisoners through sport to reduce the risk of them reoffending. So many young people end up in prison after taking a wrong turn in life because they didn’t have the support that others take for granted. We want to give them a second chance.”
While the boat club pays for staff and rowing coaches, it also benefits from lots of volunteers, some of whom started rowing through the holiday clubs. Julia shares, “It’s lovely to see their journey of growth from their first time trying rowing, to developing their skills, to becoming ambassadors for the club and welcoming new people in. These kids are really inspirational, they just need the opportunity to show what they can do.”
Summer in the City
While the Fulham Reach Boat Club programme is fully booked for the summer, a wide range of other free children’s activities are available through Summer in the City. Activities include roller skating, boxing, yoga, drama, DJing and manga. A healthy meal is provided for each child.
Holiday hunger
If your family is affected by holiday hunger, you may be eligible for support from the Hammersmith & Fulham Foodbank. The Nourish Hub is also running community lunches throughout the summer.
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