Julia and Hans Rausing donate £1.5 million to Greenhouse Sports to kick off focus on supporting youth and children

Julia and Hans Rausing are pleased to announce a £1.5 million donation to Greenhouse Sports, a London based charity using sport to engage young people and improve life chances, as part of their focus on young people at the start of 2021.

Julia and Hans have chosen to place an emphasis on youth funding in the first part of 2021, due to the disruption that has been caused to many young people’s lives and opportunities because of coronavirus.

Julia and Hans have supported Greenhouse Sports since its inception, and have seen the excellent work the charity does, particularly at its Community Sports Centre, part funded by Julia and Hans, which now has over 2,000 members from disadvantaged backgrounds. Children enrolled in Greenhouse Sports Programmes have been shown to outperform their peers in maths and English, whilst also promoting their mental and physical health.

The funding will go towards embedding Greenhouse Sports programmes in schools and increasing the reach of the programme to more than 7,000 young people every year.

This is the first of a series of donations to be announced to support young people in the UK, who have been significantly impacted, like much of the charity sector, by a fall in funding in the past year alongside an increase in demand for their services.

Julia and Hans Rausing commented: “We have seen first-hand the impact that Greenhouse Sports has had over a significant period of time in improving the life chances of children in difficult circumstances across London. This donation will enable them to continue their excellent programmes and further level the playing field for more young people, who have faced much of the last year away from schools and the youth support services that are so desperately needed.”

Beatrice Butsana-Sita, CEO at Greenhouse Sports, commented: “The last 12 months have been extraordinary. Young Londoners growing up in our toughest communities have been disproportionately impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. They need support now more than ever as the road to ‘catch up’ what has been lost in terms of education, milestones and enriching experiences is a long and vital one.

We are delighted to have the transformational support of Julia & Hans Rausing as we embark on the next chapter of Greenhouse Sports journey. Thanks to them we will ensure Greenhouse coaches are there for more young people than ever through our strategic expansion to test new initiatives, increase our engagement with schools and collaborate more widely across the sector. All whilst harnessing the power of sport as a tool for social change.”

24 February 2021