Meet Be Inspired: Our Partners in the Community

On Sunday 14th June, we invited Be Inspired down to our first Progress Rolling Club seminar. The work they do, and the cause they're fighting for, deserves a spotlight in this community, so we sat down with founder Ben to hear more about it.

Ben explained what Be Inspired is about:

"Be Inspired are an organisation based in South London supporting young people who are affected by serious youth violence, exploitation and gangs. We use sport as a vehicle to engage young people and change lives. We have a jiu-jitsu programme called Grapple Gangs which has been running now for about six years, and we've been a partner of Progress for the last three or four years. They've been supporting us by sending athletes down to teach some of our young people, and helping us with all the gear, because a lot of the young people we support don't necessarily have the means to be able to afford to buy gi's and no-gi kit, so the support of Progress means a lot to us."

He also told us what the day itself meant for the group:

"Be Inspired have been invited today to come and get involved in the first Progress Rolling Club seminar. We've brought a couple of the young people from our project and a couple of the coaches, and really it's an opportunity for them to learn some new moves, some new techniques, meet new people and be a part of the Progress community."

One of the young people training with Be Inspired put it simply:

"I've been with Be Inspired for maybe three or four months now, and it's really helped with training and setting goals for yourself. It's great to have that leadership and mentorship, especially for young athletes. They've helped by paying for training, travel and experiences like today. I'd recommend Be Inspired to anybody."