Charity sports chain opens its first Hull store
NEW VENTURE IN ORCHARD PARK
BRITAIN’S first chain of charity sports shops has opened its first store in Hull.
The doors opened at Sports Traider in the Orchard Park shopping centre in Ellerburn Avenue on Tuesday.
The previously empty unit has been brought back into use with support from the Home Office and funding from Hull City Council and the Hull Crime Reduction Fund run by the Safer Hull Partnership.
Inside, shoppers can now find plenty of branded sportswear from the likes of Regatta, Kickers, Tokyo and Speedo all priced at £5 or less.
Profits from sales will help to support local community projects in the surrounding area.
Sports Traider founder and a former recipient of an Unsung Hero at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Awards Lance Haggith performed the opening ceremony.
He said: “We are delighted to be opening in Hull and looking forward to helping more community projects in going forward.
“The support from the local area has already been second to none and to see what was a derelict shop now being used to benefit local people is brilliant.”
The charity already runs ten stores across the country, including one in Grimsby.
Run by paid staff and volunteers, the shops provide funds to invest in sports participation projects aimed at giving young people both employment and sports-based opportunities to gain confidence, learn new retail skills and improve their physical and mental health.
The charity also offers financial support to help local sports clubs and community organisations.
Mr Haggith launched the charity after seeing the benefits sporting activities gave to his own children and the positive impact they had on their social skills.
He said: “After starting out as a youth centre, we primarily looked after young carers, but then I started to notice children coming in without coats or sports footwear because they could not afford them, so I started to go into schools to ask for any unwanted equipment or training shoes and distributed them to children.
“We firmly believe that community sport is an essential part of society and should be available for all – never an inaccessible luxury.
“We have opened shops up and down the country and all the communities we operate in face similar challenges. It really is about creating a level playing field, we want all kids to have the same chances, that’s what we are about.”
Work on the Orchard Park shop was carried out by fitter Dave Walker on a charitable basis.