Last year Tillo decided to team up with the Brighton & Hove charity Chomp to help them deliver support packages to 100s of local families severely impacted by the COVID-19 crisis, both during the summer months and at Christmas time.
Chomp was created to provide nutritional food and fun for families facing financial pressure, and since its inception in 2013 the charity has sent out thousands of food boxes and supported hundreds of local families.
As lockdown restrictions begin to ease, and schools are back in session, Tillo’s founders, Alex and Gareth wanted to do something to help children from disadvantaged families from around the city get back outside, get active and lift the spirits. Tillo came up with the idea of funding sports tuition for local children from low-income households via Chomp, and, when we approached the charity, we found that local families facing challenging circumstances wanted their children to be outside, active and exercising after the multiple lockdowns of the past 12 months.
Now, with the funding received from Tillo, 50 students enrolled at Benfield and West Blatchington Schools, will receive a year of bespoke after school sports coaching. Alex comments:
“Gareth and I are both hugely passionate about sports and fitness and after what has been such a difficult 12 months for so many families being cooped up inside during the pandemic, we wanted to provide an opportunity for those from the most disadvantaged backgrounds to get involved in sport.”
Alex continues: “We all hope this donation gets local kids developing a lifelong passion for sport - it’s such a fantastic way of developing teamwork skills and making new friends. It has been an incredibly difficult experience for kids, and everyone at Tillo sincerely hopes this will help them let off some steam, get back to normality and potentially develop a real passion for something.”
Lucy Adams, SENDCo and Safeguarding Lead at Benfield Primary School said: “We are so happy to be working with Tillo. The sports funding is a fantastic opportunity for our families and very gratefully received. We are really looking forward to the return of a wider variety of clubs and sports running now we are starting to shake free from the lockdown constraints.”
Naomi Claridge, West Blatchington Primary & Nursery School, Class Teacher & PE Lead said “This funding will allow local students to try out new sports that they might not have otherwise encountered. It’s a fantastic opportunity for them and we are so pleased to have the support of a local business like Tillo.”
