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British Minister for Olympics and Sport announces
groundbreaking grant for Magic Bus and launches Premier Skills IV
English Premier League to support NGO with £600,000
New Delhi July 28, 2010: Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt MP, Secretary of
State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport today visited East
Vinod Nagar in New Delhi, one of the sites of the innovative Magic Bus
programme and announced a special grant of £600,000 for the NGO on behalf of
the Premier League. Also present at the venue was Richard Scudamore, Chief
Executive of the Premier League.
The visit also marked the launch of Premier Skills Phase IV, a programme in
partnership between the British Council and the Premier League. The
delegation, which also included Lord Sebastian Coe, nine time world Champion
Sir Steve Redgrave, Olympian and renowned athlete Dame Kelly Holmes and
British Council chair Vernon Ellis, got a first hand feel of hardships in
the underprivileged community and how sports sessions conducted by Magic Bus
have proved helpful in bringing about the behavioural change in the
community and especially among the beneficiary children and youths.
At the launch the dignitaries outlined how sports provides a positive role
model for children and it is apparent that Magic Bus enables children and
youth to discover themselves and their role in the community, and empowers
them to convert negative situations into positive learning.
The British delegation was met by Matthew Spacie, Founder Magic Bus and
Pratik Kumar, the National Program Chief. After the event Matthew Spacie
said, “This is a special moment and it is inspiring to be recognised for the
work we are doing with underprivileged children. It is a unique experience
for them to meet contemporary sports legends and their support will go a
long way in helping us strengthen our work.”
Notes to editors:
Magic Bus
Magic Bus is a not-for-profit organisation (NGO), formed by Mathew Spacie
from the UK (now based in Mumbai), which works with children living in some
of the most marginalized circumstances. Using sports as a medium, they
enable children to realise their true potential and offer them experiences
that help them find purpose in life.
British Council
The British Council is the United Kingdom's international organisation for
educational opportunities and cultural relations. Our purpose is to build
mutually beneficial relationships between people in the UK and other
countries and to increase appreciation of the UK's creative ideas and
achievements. In India, the British Council was established in 1948 and
became a Division of the British High Commission in 1972. The headquarters
is in New Delhi with offices in Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata and British
libraries run in co-operation with the Indian Council for Cultural Relations
in five cities (Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chandigarh, Hyderabad and Pune.
For more information contact:
Anjoo Mohun - Head Communications, British Council
Phone: 9810412705
email:
anjoo.mohun@in.britishcouncil.org
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