SHEFFIELD BUSINESS AWARDS: Education and business partnership

The key aim of the foundation is to build links between the football club and the community using the appeal of football and sport in general.

The community programmes are aimed at strengthening self-esteem, developing personal skills, and promoting healthy behaviours and lifestyles in young people.

In doing so, the charity aims to improve academic achievement, enhance employability and increase the feeling of self-worth and wellbeing.

Nineteen students have sustained active employment with the community foundation as a result of their engagement with an education programme and the ancillary opportunities available to them.

Sheffield United Community Foundation has formed strategic partnerships with organisations by providing high quality services and highly motivated students for work experience placements and voluntary events.

By providing such high quality students, organisations from across South Yorkshire have become more aware of the work they do with children and young people in education and have promoted their services to other organisations and partners.

This positive cycle expands their reach within the city and in turn provides more valuable opportunities for future students to engage with.

As a charity they have adopted business principles that enable them to enrich and enhance the potential of those with whom they interact for the benefit of the individual and the city as a whole.

The foundation aims to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to achieve their ambitions.

Particularly with education, they are providing students with future employment opportunities that would be unavailable.

They provide iconic and inspirational learning environments liaising with organisations both in and out of the city to deliver an effective and engaging programme.