Bristol Rugby Club announced as first club to offer the DofE as part of Dallaglio Foundation partnership
Bristol is the first rugby club signed up to offer The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE) to its young players as part of the DofE and Dallaglio Foundation’s partnership: ‘Powerful Together’. Craig Capel, Bright Sparks Programme Manager, Bristol Rugby and Ben Breeze, CEO, Bristol Rugby Community Foundation, were presented with the DofE licence by Peter Westgarth, DofE CEO, and Paula Robertson, Head of Programmes, Dallaglio Foundation, during a presentation at St. James’s Palace, London.
The ‘Powerful Together’ partnership sees English rugby star Lawrence Dallaglio’s Foundation linking up with The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award to encourage rugby clubs to run the DofE for its young rugby enthusiasts aged 14 - 24. Those who take part in the DofE will volunteer, learn a skill, get fit and plan and undertake an expedition over six to 18 months of challenging activity. Widely acknowledged as the world’s leading achievement award for young people, the DofE will enable these young players to develop key skills for life and work, such as confidence, commitment and team working.
Ben Breeze, CEO, Bristol Rugby Community Foundation said: "We are delighted to become a Licensed Partner of the DofE and are thrilled to be offered the chance to engage with and deliver such a widely recognised Award through the support of the Dallaglio Foundation. After working with a small cohort before the end of the academic year we are looking to roll out the offer of DofE across Bristol in September through our partner secondary schools and combination rugby clubs. The young people we work with will benefit tremendously from developing skills, and overcoming the tasks and challenges that they will face in rugby and in committing to DofE at any level."
Peter Westgarth, CEO, DofE said: “Sport is such a powerful tool to focus young people. Combining this with the DofE will give these young players an exceptional start to their life journeys, exposing them to different experiences and giving them the chance to nurture key employability skills. Through rugby we can reach out to more young people and are hugely grateful to Bristol Rugby Club and the Dallaglio Foundation for their support of this initiative.”
Lawrence Dallaglio, Founder, Dallaglio Foundation said: “I know the power sport has for social change and I want to share it with young people, giving them the chance to find their own success, which is my charity’s key focus. The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award is the perfect way to help achieve this.
“Completing their Duke of Edinburgh’s Award with Bristol Rugby Club, young people will volunteer in their communities, undertake exciting, taxing challenges and get fit while having fun. This project will open up opportunities for young people to develop valuable skills and gain experience in settings they would not have had the chance to access before.”
To find out more about ‘Powerful Together’ please visit:
http://www.dallagliofoundation.com/what-we-do/our-projects/powerful-together