DK / EN

MARGINALISED CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE

Helping vulnerable children and young people to take part in sports

BROEN in Horsens has helped about 600 children in 2020, enabling them to take part in sports. Vulnerable children and young people are helped here to pay for subscriptions, equipment and event fees. The aim is to get these children out among other children, so they can learn to be part of a positive community, mirror themselves in adult role models and experience success, to strengthen their belief in themselves. “All children are entitled to free-time activities, and active children are happy children. The Vissing foundation’s support makes a big difference for us, because our help is needed by even more children and adolescents than usual. That is because of COVID-19 among other things. For example, we help children from families where the parents have lost their jobs,” explains Gitte Holgaard, chairman of BROEN Horsens.

Several of the children supported by BROEN Horsens are so good at their sports that they go to an elite sports school which is part of Team Danmark. The donation includes money allocated for both taking part in events and for new equipment.

“We have children who have won medals and cups at the Nordic Championships, European, Danish and Jutland Championships, and at other types of sports events. We have a good network, and cooperate well with the clubs in our municipality. When they find a child needing help, they ring and talk to us about it. So we find the right solution for the individual child,” says Gitte Holgaard.

The work with the children at BROEN Horsens is carries out by passionate volunteers. That means all donations go to the children.

And BROEN’s work makes a difference. Gitte Holgaard tells the story of a girl who played basketball in Horsens, but at the age of 17 could not afford subscriptions for events. She was therefore going to give up her sport.

“BROEN Horsens decided to support her, so she could go to the national team contest in Italy. She was seen there by a talent scout, and today she plays professional basketball in the USA. It is that kind of example that shows how a helping hand at the right moment can change someone’s life for the better. We are here for the children, but we are dependent on important donations, such as the one we have received from the Vissing Foundation,” says Gitte Holgaard.