Sensory Rooms

WHAT WE DO

In 2022, we decided to formulate our own fundraising strategy and formulate strategic objectives that would allow us to conduct our own charity work.

We conducted an internal audit to find where our passions lay as a group of trustees, and we settled on one thing... SPORT

We decided we would host our own sporting fundraising events throughout the year, and we would aim to help as many children as possible in the local area experience sport in some format. Regardless of a child’s race, gender, ethnicity, ability or sexual orientation, they should be able to enjoy Sport without worry.

Our aim is to ‘Bring Sport to every Child’ through Collaboration and Community Engagement

We also understand that now more than ever, families may not have sport at the forefront of their mind. We are willing to provide families with an afternoon or evening of joy and experience that may boost morale and fill the hearts of young children.

Within this, we formulated strategic objectives to help us to achieve our aims....

Aims & Objectives

SEEING

enabling children with SEND/sensory needs and children from disadvantaged backgrounds to watch professional sport; this links to our aim of providing every sporting stadium with a sensory room in professional cricket and football.

BELIEVING

giving socio-economically disadvantaged children access to sports coaching to enrich their sporting chances and give them an opportunity to participate in sport in a team environment

ACHIEVING

giving children access to competitive sporting environments, that may be providing equipment so they can play in a team, or giving them access to correct nutrition/supplements to support their performances within that team environment.

The Work We do

We have since the inception of our project to ‘bring sport to every child’, taken over 20 children into the sensory room at Wolves FC, whilst also providing match tickets for another 85 children. This was the first time that many of them had been to a live sports match of any kind, and represented a huge leap forwards in what they had achieved personally. All of this was possible because of the intervention and hard work of the charity.

In the 2023/24 football season we provided over £500 worth of sporting equipment and nutritional support (hitting our ‘Believing’ strategic objective) to Amethyst 6th Form’s Football Academy - which has allowed them to achieve high levels of performance and ultimately win their league!

We at The Whistle Foundation are working tirelessly with various stakeholders within sport and government, with the aim to deliver sensory provision in all stadiums (hitting our ‘Seeing’ strategic objective). We are aiming to provide all 92 EFL football clubs and all 18 First-class cricket clubs (without one) with a sensory room, or failing that a mobile sensory provision that allows children and young people with disabilities the chance to experience sport.

We are currently actively working with (to achieve our sensory provision aims):

Wolverhampton Wanderers FC

Preston North End FC

Wigan Athletic FC

Shrewsbury Town FC

Leicestershire CCC

Derbyshire CCC

Gloucestershire CCC

Somerset CCC

Meet the Team!

Ajay Sharma

As a Co-Founder, it is one of my roles to identify and explore new ventures and avenues for the charity to explore to further our journey of bringing sport to every child.

Jamie Lunn

Co-Founder As a Co-Founder, my role within the charity is to orchestrate and oversee all events and fundraising. Further to this, it is my responsibility to engage with amateur and professional sports clubs across the country to further our aim of bringing sport to every child

Greg Rollason

Co-Founder As a Co-Founder, one of my main roles is to oversee the charity’s operations and compliance with policies and procedures. I work to ensure that our charitable aims and objectives are being met through sponsorship, networking and outreach work with partners, mainly within school, amateur and professional sport. I also ensure that funding is correctly allocated to different projects that fall within our strategic aims, so that myself, the other trustees and our volunteer workforce can continue to bring sport to every child.

Matt Bowen

Cricket Manager As Cricket Manager, my main role and responsibility is centred around the organisation, administration and delivery of our 2 headline cricket tournaments; Madness and Floodlit. I also support the work done by the trustees and our volunteers in trying to achieve our charitable aims and objectives on our journey to bring sport to every child.