Barclays Dedicates New Sports Fields to East Side Charter School Students

Barclays colleagues join local political, community and professional sports figures to unveil new playgrounds and sports fields at the Northeast Wilmington school

 

Wilmington, Del. (September 29, 2008) –To enrich the lives of Wilmington residents and students, Barclays today dedicated two new playgrounds, a football field, baseball diamond and three basketball courts to East Side Charter School as part of the Barclays Spaces for Sports initiative. 

East Side Charter School is the first location in the United States to benefit from the Barclays Spaces for Sports initiative, a global program first launched in the UK in 2004 that focuses on revitalizing communities.  

The new EastSide Sports Center has been made possible by a $500,000 grant from Barclays plus additional support from Yaverland Foundation, Edgar A. Thronson Foundation and Rodney Robinson Landscape Architects.  

The dedication day commenced at 11:00am, as the students of East Side Charter entered the new “EastSide Sports Center” fields for the first time and participated in sports clinics conducted by Boys & Girls Club of Delaware and former Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Nets stars, World B. Free and Darryl Dawkins. The dedication ceremony commenced with remarks from local dignitaries, including Wilmington Mayor James Baker, New Castle County Executive Chris Coons, Gubernatorial candidate Jack Markell, and Barclaycard Global Chief Executive Officer Antony Jenkins. Following the dedication remarks, the East Side Charter school choir performed and comments were made by members of the student body. 

“I am incredibly excited to dedicate these new fields and playgrounds to the students of East Side Charter School, and to the residents of our local, underserved, community. I know that the activities conducted and the sports played on these fields will foster a sense of camaraderie, partnership and community among our students and our surrounding neighborhoods.  Those sports activities and that sense of community will be an essential part of the mental, physical and social development of our students,” said Charles McDowell, Chair of the East Side Charter Board.

“Once again, we are very blessed to have this magnanimous support from Barclays, a company that has continuously played a large role in mentoring our students, educating them about fiscal responsibility, and helping them learn and grow in both the classroom and now on the playing fields.” 

Since its inception, Barclays Spaces for Sports has created more than 200 sustainable sports sites and awarded more than 4,000 coaching packs in the UK.  Following its success in the UK the program was expanded globally in April 2008, with sites already open in South Africa and now the United States. The expansion of the program reflects Barclays role as a global business leader and as a supportive member of the greater global community. 

“Barclays Spaces for Sports has given over half a million people globally the opportunity to benefit from sports and the opportunity to break the cycle of deprivation,” said Lloyd M. Wirshba, Chief Executive Officer, Barclaycard US, the credit card business of Barclays PLC in the United States. “We are especially delighted that our own East Side Charter School was chosen as a Spaces for Sports site in the US.  Barclays has a proud global tradition of fostering community spirit among its employees, and this spirit is reflected in the work that has gone into these fields and through the countless hours that we have spent nurturing the growth and development of the East Side Charter students.”

Barclays has been an active supporter of East Side Charter School since 2003.  Each year, Barclays participates in “Make a Difference Day,” during which more than 1,000 students from East Side Charter School, Kuumba Academy  and Thomas Edison Charter School, also located in Wilmington, visit Barclays US headquarters to learn simple concepts of saving money and get a tour of the bank.

The 2007 Barclaycard USA Cycle Challenge, a nine-week, 3,000 mile cross-country charity ride raised more than $70,000 for the East Side Charter School’s new Computer Learning Center.  Earlier in 2008, Barclays was honored by the Delaware Mentoring Council with the Governor’s Award for Youth Mentoring. The award was bestowed for Barclays outstanding model of corporate community service, and the dedication of its employees in one-on-one mentoring and empowering the youth of the East Side Charter School.

About Barclays Spaces for Sports
Barclays Spaces for Sports has delivered more than 200 sustainable sports sites, awarded more than 4,000 coaching packs and given more than half a million people the opportunity to benefit.  It is the single biggest investment in grassroots sports ever by a private company in the UK. As part of Barclays commitment to the long-term future of existing sites it has invested £5million via the Football Foundation, who will work to build the capacity of the sites until 2010, by which time they will be self-sustaining.  Barclays Spaces for Sports is part of Barclays global community program which invested £52.4m across 52 countries in 2007. Barclays Spaces for Sports has operated via a successful partnership between Barclays, the Football Foundation and Groundwork. For more details, see www.barclays.co.uk/spacesforsports.

About the East Side Charter School
East Side Learning Center, the first charter school in the country to be founded within a public housing authority’s property, is located in the economically deprived neighborhoods of East Lake and Riverside. According to the 2007 Wilmington Kids Count Fact Book, East Side mirrors the socioeconomic profile of the City: 60% of families are headed by single parents; 31% of children live below the poverty line; and 90% of its children receive free or reduced price lunch.  Census data also indicates that this East Lake area has the highest percentage of high school drop outs who are 25 years of age or older compared to the rest of the state, 55% and 17% respectively.

East Side currently enrolls 400 students from 3 year olds through Grade 8, with the addition of more classes of 1st through 8th grades.

About Barclaycard US

Headquartered in Wilmington, Del., Barclaycard US creates customized co-branded credit card programs for some of the country’s most successful travel, entertainment, retail and financial institutions, including US Airways, Best Western, Carnival Cruise Lines, Travelocity, L.L.Bean, Barnes & Noble, BJ’s Wholesale Club and UBS.  The company employs 1,200 associates and was named a Top Employer in Delaware in 2008.  For more information please visit www.barclaycardus.com.

Globally, Barclaycard provides credit cards in the U.K., Germany, Spain, Italy and Portugal.  In the Nordic region, Barclaycard operates through Entercard, a joint venture with Swedbank.

Barclaycard is a division of Barclays PLC, a major global financial services provider engaged in retail and commercial banking, credit cards, investment banking, wealth management and investment management services.  With over 300 years of history and expertise in banking, Barclays operates in over 50 countries, employs 135,000 people and services accounts for over 27 million customers and clients worldwide.  For further information about Barclays, please visit www.barclays.com

 

 

Barclays launches 2008 CSV Make a Difference Day campaign to colleagues

22nd August 2008

Last year was an unprecedented success for the Community Service Volunteers (CSV) Make a Difference Day campaign at Barclays. A total of 16,389 colleagues 40 per cent more than in 2006 volunteered in more than 1,100 projects across 26 countries. And they were joined by 4,356 relatives, friends, customers and suppliers to turn their ideas into reality. The aim of Make a Difference Day is to encourage people to give their time, not their money, to get involved in volunteering and have an impact on the local community. It is not about making donations or fundraising. To make it easy, Barclays offers colleagues time during the working day to get involved. And teams could be eligible for volunteering grants to pay for the materials and expenses needed to run projects.

Visit www.barclays.com/makeadifferenceday and click on "Be a part of it" to find out more.

 

 

Launch of StreetChance supported by Barclays Spaces for Sports.

15th July 2008

This is a three-year project being delivered initially across ten London boroughs.

It uses cricket to engage young people from a range of backgrounds in areas affected by youth crime and anti-social behaviour.

The project aims to instil positive values in young people such as self confidence, team spirit and mutual respect, and enhance relationships with others, including schools, police and the wider community.

It is a partnership between Chance to shine, Barclays Spaces for Sports, Cricket for Change, the Metropolitan Police Service and Positive Futures; a social inclusion project funded mainly by the Home Office.

Read more at www.streetchance.co.uk

 

 

Chairman's Awards 2008: winners announced

11th June 2008

On Wednesday, 11th June 2008 we celebrated the 12th annual Chairman's Awards.

The Chairman's Awards recognise colleagues achievements in their local community and in areas such as diversity, financial inclusion and the environment.

The voluntary work that colleagues do has a significant impact on the communities where we do business, it is a key constituent of being a responsible global citizen.

This year we received 311 nominations from 24 countries, covering every one of our businesses. It is a tremendous achievement to be nominated, and a very tough job to decide the finalists. The quality, breadth and ingenuity of the entries this year are quite simply outstanding.

 

 

Barclays Spaces for Sports expands overseas

22nd April 2008

The award-winning community sports sponsorship programme, Barclays Spaces for Sports, has today unveiled plans to invest in communities overseas.

Having successfully delivered 200 sustainable sports sites in the UK, awarded more than 4,000 coaching packs and given more than half a million people the opportunity to benefit, Barclays Spaces for Sports will now deliver sites and projects overseas. It has just opened its first site outside the UK in South Africa.

 

The announcement was made at the Tottenham Hotspur flagship site - at The White Hart Lane Community Sports Centre – as part of an event that also celebrated the success of the programme to date and the positive impact it is having on communities across the UK.

 

Joining guests at the site were Tottenham players Darren Bent and Didier Zokora, along with England cricketer [Owais Shah - tbc] and England women’s cricketer Ebony Rainford-Brent, while local youngsters took part in football, rugby, cricket and tennis coaching sessions.

 

The Tottenham site was the first flagship site to open in November 2005, after the launch of Barclays Spaces for Sports in September 2004. It comprises a large state-of-the-art artificial grass pitch and four floodlit tennis courts, and is a prime example of a site that has benefited many elements of the local community. For example, Haringey Safer Neighbourhoods teams run a ‘community league’ for young people at risk of crime from within the borough. Many other organised activities are also run from the site.

 

Tottenham Hotspur striker Darren Bent said: “I think it’s great that Barclays Spaces for Sports has invested in lots of sites like this one. Spurs toured South Africa last summer and we have recently built a house for orphaned children in the SOS Children’s Village in Rustenberg. I have seen first-hand how projects that use sport like this give many people, especially youngsters, the chance to focus on something positive and keep fit.

 

Gary Hoffman, Group Vice Chairman of Barclays, said: “We are delighted with what Barclays Spaces for Sports has achieved, in particular the positive impact it is having on so many communities across the UK. As a global company, Barclays wants to make a difference in all the communities we work in. This is why we are expanding the programme and hoping to replicate the same success overseas. However, we also remain committed to making sure all our existing sites in the UK have a long-term future.”

 

Barclays Spaces for Sports has operated via a ground-breaking public:private partnership between Barclays, the Football Foundation and Groundwork. Barclays has invested £30million to date while the Football Foundation has provided £7million of matched funding, with £12million of leverage funding from the Football Foundation and other sources. A further £10million of leverage funding via Groundwork means the total amount invested is £59million.

 

Paul Thorogood, Chief Executive of the Football Foundation, said: "Over half a million people have benefited from the state-of-the-art multi-sport facilities, all of which have been built in the most deprived areas of the country. With many millions more set to benefit from them in years to come the programme is helping the Foundation to create a lasting sports infrastructure legacy that is needed to get people active and stay healthy, and regenerate hundreds of deprived communities across the UK. The Football Foundation will now continue to work with Barclays to ensure the long-term sustainability of the sites."

 

Tony Hawkhead, Chief Executive of Groundwork said: “Not only does the programme help young people and adults boost their health and fitness, it also provides focal points for members of different communities to interact and come together. By investing in sports at grassroots level Barclays Spaces for Sports is also helping to build stronger neighbourhoods.”

 

Kathryn Robinson, Chief Executive of the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation, said: "The Barclays Spaces for Sports site has delivered a huge boost to this area of North London and attracted many users, including people from disadvantaged groups. It's allowed us to significantly expand our community activity and strengthen local ties. It is an excellent example of what can be achieved when the power of sport is used to engage and inspire young people and we are delighted that Barclays is now extending the programme overseas so that other communities can also benefit."

 

Barclays Spaces for Sports has also been acknowledged through a number of industry awards. Last year it won the BUPA Healthy Community Award at the Business in the Community (BITC) Awards of Excellence, which followed other awards for Best Grass Roots Sports Sponsorship at the Hollis Sponsorship Awards 2007 and the Sport England Community Programme Award at the Sport Industry Awards 2007.

Barclays helps people in Katine, Uganda access savings and loans for the first time

14 April 2008

Barclays is helping 5,000 people in Katine, Uganda access savings and loans for the first time.

With the help of Care Uganda, Barclays is working with Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLAs). VSLAs are self-selected groups which pool their money into a fund, enabling members to borrow. The initiative will also help educate the villagers in basic business skills and financial literacy.

This component is part of Barclays three-year project, 'Katine: it starts with a village', in partnership with the African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF) and The Guardian newspaper. Barclays is donating £1.5m, including £1m matching funds for Guardian reader donations. Since October 2007 Guardian readers have raised £787,481 for the project.

Susie Hares, Global Community Partnerships Manager, Barclays said: "The Katine project is addressing the major causes of poverty in a rural African community in a targeted and integrated manner. Barclays is adding real value beyond the donation through the design and delivery of this innovative financial inclusion component."

William Derban, Senior Financial Inclusion Manager, Barclays added: "This is the first time the Global Community Investment team and Financial Inclusion team have worked together to target a previously un-accessed group. The aim is to impact positively on the lives of the people of Katine and at the same time develop a sustainable commercial model of rural banking."

 

Since October 2007, the project has provided water sources to three villages and five primary schools, refurbished two health centres and increased immunisation coverage to remote villages in Katine. A total of 66 health teams – one in every village in Katine – have been trained to identify danger signs, such as malnutrition and malaria, and to refer people to the nearest health centre.