 It's a harsh reality for our young people, who are striving to excel in sports, music, and the arts. They face significant disadvantages, with no apprenticeships, no government grants, and no workplace training programmes. Their only hope for funding is often limited to family, friends, or nothing. This is not fair, and it's why we need your help.
The Travers Foundation was established in 2012. It is a unique registered charity that provides vital financial support to help young people pursue their dreams in sports, music, or the arts. We are a team of dedicated volunteers, ensuring that every penny we raise goes directly towards helping local young people from Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, and Rutland. This year, we are thrilled to introduce two new funds underlining our unwavering commitment to fairness and inclusivity. The Jeff Ward Sporting Fund provides additional grants to local young sportspeople selected to compete internationally, ensuring they have the necessary resources to succeed. On the other hand, our new Access Hardship Fund allows us to extend extra financial support to young people from families in the most need, ensuring no one is left behind. We need your help to expand our support for local young people. If you’d like to learn more about The Travers Foundation and explore how you can make a difference, call me, and we can arrange an informal chat.  It's been a busy start to the year for ZakCampbell, age 17, from Corby. Hecompletes at Elite Level InternationalWako events. So far, Zak has taken aBronze medal at the Dutch Open, Slivermedals at the Watford Open, and Slivermedals at the GB Grand Slam in Bath.Zak has also been training with theWako GB Squad. Next up is theHungarian World Cup in Budapest -good luck Zak!
NewGen IT Offers Free Hardware Audits to celebrate its Support of The Travers Foundation.13/4/2024
 Suraj Dholakia (Centre) MD Of NewGen IT celebrates with colleague Matt Garratt (Right) & Terry Forsey (Left) Chairman of The Travers Foundation. NewGen IT, a leading IT support and solutions provider, is offering free hardware audits to businesses in Northamptonshire, Leicestershire, and Rutland. This offer is a result of NewGen IT's support for The Travers Foundation, a volunteer-run charity that provides financial support to local young people to help them realise their dreams in sports, music, and the arts.
The free hardware audit service is available to the first 10 businesses who contact NewGen IT. The audit aims to help businesses optimise their IT infrastructure and identify potential areas for improvement. NewGen IT's experienced technicians will comprehensively assess a company's hardware, including servers, workstations, and networking equipment and provide detailed recommendations on hardware upgrades, replacements, and maintenance to ensure the business's IT systems run efficiently and securely. "We are thrilled to offer this new service to our clients and the wider business community," said Suraj Dholakia, Managing Director of NewGen IT. "By sponsoring The Travers Foundation, we have a unique opportunity to give back to the local community and support their essential work. The free hardware audit is our way of helping businesses improve their IT infrastructure and, in turn, contribute to the growth and success of the region. The Travers Foundation, which provides financial support to young people in Northamptonshire, Leicestershire and Rutland, has welcomed NewGen IT's sponsorship and the new hardware audit service. "We appreciate NewGen IT's support and commitment to the local community," said Terry Forsey, Chairman of The Travers Foundation. "This new service will be invaluable for businesses looking to optimise their IT systems and free up resources to invest in their core operations and community initiatives." Businesses interested in taking advantage of the free hardware audit can visit the NewGen IT website at https://www.newgen-it.co.uk/free-hardware-audit/ to learn more and schedule an appointment. About NewGen IT Services NewGen IT Services, a B2B IT solutions provider, is a trusted partner, offering seamless services, quality hardware, and dependable 24/7 support. Businesses in Northamptonshire and neighbouring counties rely on NewGen to streamline operations and enhance productivity, making it their preferred partner for all IT needs.  The Sporting Chance Prize Draw 24 opens at 12 noon on 1st March 2024 The Travers Foundation is thrilled to announce its partnership with the Sporting Chance Prize Draw (https://sportingchanceprizedraw.com/). As part of this collaboration, The Travers Foundation will actively support its charitable endeavours.
The Sporting Chance Prize Draw aims to raise funds for various charitable causes, and the Travers Foundation is honoured to be a part of this initiative. This partnership will enable the Travers Foundation to further its mission of providing opportunities for young individuals between the ages of thirteen and thirty, empowering them to pursue their passions in sport, music and the arts. Through this association, the foundation seeks to continue to positively impact the lives of aspiring young talents. "We are excited to join forces with the Sporting Chance Prize Draw and look forward to contributing this initiative," said Terry Forsey, Chairman of The Travers Foundation. "This partnership aligns with our commitment to nurturing the dreams and talents of young individuals, and we are eager to support the Sporting Chance Prize Draw in its endeavours." For more information about the Travers Foundation and its partnership with the Sporting Chance Prize Draw, please visit The Travers Foundation’s website and social media channels. Enabling International Success Jeff Ward was a keen racing enthusiast who competed and won races during the 1960s. Joining the 750 Motor Club at age twenty, Jeff started competing with an Austin 7 Special before progressing via a self-built 750 Formula Car and the ex-Rob Easterling Rejo to a Chevron. A founder of the London Special Builders Group and author of The Special Builders Guide, Jeff helped countless others progress up the motorsport ladder. Retirement did not stop his sporting pursuits; he was a regular sailor at Rutland Water. He also enjoyed participating in the annual Banbury Run, the largest gathering of pre-1931 motorcycles organised by the Vintage Motorcycle Club. Jeff won on several occasions!  The Jeff Ward Sporting Fund, provides funding to our local young sportspeople who have the ability and opportunity to compete internationally. But what made Jeff Ward truly special was his passion for helping others achieve their sporting dreams. He always took an interest in a young person's sporting endeavours, and he believed that to succeed in sports, you need clarity of purpose and persistence.
Jeff Ward once wrote, “To succeed in sports, you need a clear vision and determination. A clear vision of what you want to achieve. Determination & resilience to help overcome challenges and continue to move forward." Jeff Ward's legacy lives on through The Jeff Ward Sporting Fund, which enables The Travers Foundation to provide additional funding exclusively to our local young sportspeople who have the ability and opportunity to compete internationally. Terry Forsey, founder of The Travers Foundation, says, “We are honoured to have been selected as the Jeff Ward Sporting Fund custodians. We are confident that our local young sports people will benefit from this funding for many years.” Local young sportspeople can apply for support at www.travers-foundation.org.uk.
"Made In Corby" by Meera Joshi
© Meera Joshi, 2023During August 2023, I attended an intense course with The National Youth Theatre, directed by The Opia Collective. Week 1 consisted of developing our relationship and unity as a company. We had participated in many ensemble games and activities that allowed us to build on those connections and to understand the best practices for our company of 29. We created a company contract that outlines how we wanted to create work as a company and what we wanted to get out of it. This week was an invaluable stage of the course as it allowed me to understand better how to work in an ensemble, lead in a large group setting, and express and give space for everyone's unique experiences and stories.  Week 2-3, we were straight to developing upon the skills we were introduced in week 1. Our directors, Masha Kevinovna and Chisara Agor, come from various art backgrounds, including directing, writing and acting and have created work for numerous theatres across London. They introduced me to multiple skills I've put into my toolkit, including Laban, Chekhov and Viewpoints. Being introduced to a wide variety of theories in practice gave me a crash course into various performancestyles, which I've already started to incorporate into my next project. Our final performance was inspired by the group's feminist and pro-inclusion agenda and our desire to create work around social & cultural themes through a creative lens. Throughout this course, I developed my writing skills; I had two scenes where I was the assistant director and involved in the movement sequences and finally as an actor for four more scenes. The National Youth Theatre CEO and their alumni were present at our performance. I've also been able to access various networking opportunities.  As a performer, this is the type of work I strive to create; I want to make work that reflects on the people within our society to give opportunities to those with less fortune and access. This experience allowed me to become a member of The National Youth theatre and have access to numerous options, including castings and skill-building techniques. I also could network with over 30+ individuals with multiple performance disciplinary expertise, which has already opened more doors for me going forward.
It's utterly apparent that without The Traver's Foundation's generous support, I wouldn't have been able to partake in this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I am wholly grateful for their support in making this whirlwind of a chance possible. Thank You again, Meera Joshi. Perfroming with the Spartan Drum and Bugle Corps Lauren Kent-Walton wins World Championship perfroming with the Spartan Drum and Bugle Corps In Summer 2023, I travelled to America to be a part of the Colourguard section of the New Hampshire-based Spartans Drum and Bugle Corps. I departed England on the 23rd of June and flew to Boston Airport. From there, I drove to a week-long camp that was held at Bishop Hendricken High School in Rhode Island. I learnt most of our 12-minute-long show there. Every day here involved waking up between 7-8 am, going outside to stretch with our group (138 members) almost immediately, eating breakfast prepared by volunteers on our food truck, and starting our all-day rehearsals from about 9 am. This would involve about a 45-minute to 1-hour warm-up (dance and equipment basics) before we began learning or ‘cleaning’ our show work. Our rehearsal days were around 10-12 hours long each day, with four meal breaks separating each block. After about a week in Rhode Island, we embarked on our 6-week-long tour, starting with our ‘friends and family’ show in New Hampshire, followed by 2 shows in Massachusetts. We also had shows in South Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Connecticut, New York, Ohio, and West Virginia and concluded our tour with four championship shows in Indiana between the 8th and 12th of August. Most days would follow a similar routine to our move-in camp in Rhode Island. We would wake up, stretch together, have breakfast, split into sections for a more thorough warm-up, and then rehearse our show routine. We would then break for lunch and return to our sections to continue what we did before our meal for another few hours before breaking for dinner. After dinner, we would have our final block, which would most frequently be ‘ensemble’, where all sections of the corps would come together to refine sections of the show we had been working on. We would always conclude our rehearsal days with a full run-through of the show before loading our props and equipment and having our final meal of the day. Our show days would involve almost the same routine, but we would skip out the middle block between lunch and dinner, and push ‘ensemble’ forwards. We would shower and get ready for the show (hair and makeup) before getting on our buses and heading to the show site. Once we got to the show site we would unload our props, get our equipment for warmups, and spend about an hour warming up, before heading back to the bus to change into our uniform and then performing! After our show, we load our props and equipment, change out of our uniform, eat, and then return to our buses. Spartans have six buses (Colourguard, high brass, low brass, percussion and two staff busses) as well as one prop truck, one equipment truck, one food truck and one chase car, so we always travelled as a convoy! After each show, we would travel overnight to our following ‘housing site’, which would often involve anywhere between a 2- and 12-hour drive! Our housing sites were mostly high schools, with the exception of our final site, which was a college! All 138 of us would sleep on the floor in sports halls each night! Our tour was split up into some half days, where we would rehearse in the morning and go to a laundromat to do laundry in the afternoon. We would also have Walmart trips where we were able to buy food for our ‘bus boxes’ (small boxes of snacks we kept under our seats on the bus). We also had a ‘free day’ at a theme park in North Carolina! Our tour was concluded with the ‘Open Class World Championship Finals’ in Marion, Indiana, where we were able to become World Champions of the Open Class! We had been undefeated all season, which was a good way to conclude the season. We then went to the ‘World Class World Championship Finals’ where we were able to watch bigger groups perform, and also perform ourselves in Prelims and Semi-Finals, as well as an encore performance at Semi-Finals for being Open Class World Champions! This was our last day together as an entire corps, as many of our members flew home from Indianapolis, whilst the rest of us had a 19-hour bus ride back to New Hampshire. I learned so much and brought it all back to England. I was very eager to get international experience on different equipment. In Colourguard we spin 6-foot flags and mock rifles and sabres. I had international flag experience but hadn’t had international ‘weapon’ (rifle and sabre) experience. This year I was able to learn sabre, and it was very beneficial to be able to learn techniques I was never taught at home and know that it would be very advantageous to bring home these techniques to my group in England.
I would take notes of the hacks they taught me so that the members I teach at home would be able to have access to and benefit from the information I never had access to when I was learning! Similarly, I was able to learn a lot from the culture the Colourguard staff created for us. They put a great emphasis on personal accountability and ways we would benefit from being accountable for ourselves, each other and the organisation as a whole. They also created a great vulnerability culture whereby we knew we would be supported with any problems or frustrations we had, as they knew how overwhelming it can be spending 7 weeks with the same people doing the same thing each day! This is something I benefitted from a lot and always expressed interest in, as I knew this would be another thing I could bring home to elevate the member experience. I was able to challenge myself significantly more this season compared to my previous season here. In my previous season, we had a 2-week-break, whereas we were constantly on tour this year. Our show content was a lot more physically complex, which meant I had to stay a lot more mentally engaged to build skill and consistency. All of this hard work paid off as we were able to be undefeated all season and become world champions!  Come and see our amazing young performers. Join us for an unforgettable night of music and entertainment with Travers Rising Stars on Saturday 18th November at The Core Corby!
Get your tickets now at https://www.thecorecorby.com/.../travers-taking-the-stage/. Don't miss this incredible opportunity to see the next generation of rising stars perform live. See you there! Special Offer - use our discount code “TRS2023” to get One free ticket if you buy 4 or more.  The Travers Foundation is proud to announce the winner of the 2023 Travers Rising Stars competition was LVT, who performed at Glastonblaby 2023. This annual charity fundraising event was held on August 19th, 2023, at the Leicester Lions Rugby Club.
LVT wowed the judges with her engaging performance, which included two original songs, "I'm Done" and "Party with My Girls," as well as her adaptation of Adele's "Someone Like You.". Kieran Forsey, Head of Travers Rising Stars & a Trustee of The Travers Foundation, said, "The audience reaction to LVT was excellent, and she is a superb winner. We look forward to continuing to work with her in 2024." LVT expressed her excitement about the performance, saying, "In 2024, I want my music to continue to grow and play more London-based Venus and would love to play more festivals. I want next year to be a big one for me. So, I will continue putting in the work, staying consistent, and smashing some goals." Kieran Forsey, Head of Travers Rising Stars & a Trustee of The Travers Foundation, thanked Glastonblaby for hosting Travers Rising Stars again this year. Kieran added, "We are a team of volunteers, which means every penny we raise goes directly towards helping local young people from Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, and Rutland. Since our inception, we have spent almost £300,000 helping young people." The Travers Foundation and Travers Rising Stars are committed to supporting young musical talent and providing opportunities to showcase their skills. The Travers Foundation is a volunteers run charity that helps 13 to 30-year-olds improve their skills in sports, music, and the arts. Founded in 2012, The Foundation provides vital financial support to help young people pursue their dreams. The Travers Rising Stars competition is one way the foundation supports young talent. LVT's performance at Glastonblaby 2023 is just one example of The Foundation's dedication to helping young people pursue their dreams.  Click on the image to view this podcast William Sharman hosts his inaugural Podcast for The Travers Foundation by chatting with Terry Forsey, Chairman and Founder of The Travers Foundation.
"Life’s not fair for young people trying to make it in sports, performing and creative arts. They are at a tremendous disadvantage. There are no apprenticeships, no student loans, and no workplace training programmes. The only source of funding is family and friends, or nothing. That’s simply unfair, and this is my motivation behind founding The Travers Foundation." View this podcast  Congratulations to Elliott & Fabian Powell who represented Oakham School in the Continental Tyres U18 Schools Cup at Twickenham on 16th March. Oakham won 31-24 and Elliott scored a try! It is 20 years since the school won this competition and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Elliott & Fabian to play at the home of England Rugby. We believe it's a first with two brothers playing on a cup-winning team. Congratulations from everyone at The Travers Foundation   Join our team of volunteers and make a real difference for local young people. Life’s unfair for young people trying to make their mark in sports, performing and creative arts. They can be at a tremendous disadvantage. There are no apprenticeships, government grants, or workplace training programmes. Often the only source of funding is family or friends, or nothing.
That’s not fair, and this is the motivation behind the Travers Foundation. We are a team of volunteers, which means every penny we raise goes directly towards helping local young people from Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, and Rutland. We have spent £250,000 funding over 250 young people in ten the last years. How you can help us? Volunteer – you can help us to support local young people. Interested? Please get in touch. Fundraise – we receive no funding from the Government or local authorities. We’re self-reliant on our fundraising and are always looking for new ways to reach out and raise money. Like to help? Contact us now. Trustee –we’re looking for new trustees to help us. If you are passionate about helping young people in Sports, Creative or Performing arts, contact us for an informal chat.  Congratulations to Mae Stephens, who's just signed a record label contract after over 10 million people viewed her YouTube release "If We Ever Broke Up’. One week later, it's BBC Radio One’s tune of the week. Mae was a finalist in Travers Rising Stars 2021. Wishing you tons of luck in the future.  Paul Hindle aims to complete this year's London Marathon in 3.30! Paul Hindle from Gretton aims to achieve his target of 3.30 in this year’s St Georges Day London Marathon. Donate to Paul's Just Giving Page
Paul is running his third London Marathon. His first attempt was the covid London Marathon in October 21. “I completed it in 3.32 and loved it,” said Paul, “It was just outside my target time, so I was disappointed”. Paul returned for his second London Marathon last October. Paul adds, “I was confident I would beat my previous marathon. However, the marathon gods had other ideas. It was horrendous! I limped home with what I felt was an extremely disappointing time of 3.48, which was miles away from my target.” In Paul’s eyes, this failure was a bittersweet moment which relit the fire and gave him the drive to return in 2023. Paul explained, “I wanted to run for someone local, and The Travers Foundation is the best choice. I find it awful to think that talented kids today cannot chase their dreams because of finances! The next Tiger Woods, Usain Bolt or Eliud Kipchoge could lurk in the shadows waiting to be helped up the ladder, and why not! The idea of assisting someone in reaching their full potential and touching greatness fills me with much joy.” So, Paul’s training continues, and he says it’s going very well, “I feel strong and ready to reach my marathon holy grail of 3.30. I’ll continue to train hard, harder than before, and hope that the gods are favourable on the day.”. Donate to Paul's Just Giving Page  Kay Moorcroft, left, from The Singers Club will help Travers Rising Stars to reach their perfromance potential As local musicians and singers become more accomplished, they often need specific help and guidance to develop their vocal ability to perform at the highest level.
The Travers Foundation is delighted to announce a coaching partnership with a top local vocal coach Kay Moorcroft from The Singers Club in Leicester. Kay will offer one-to-one vocal coaching to performers on the Travers Rising Stars Programme. Kay said, "All singers need a dynamic and fun environment to develop their skills and confidence. I help students with their vocal technique, vocal & songwriting skills, and vocal health. Through these lessons, students can access and unlock areas of their voice they never knew existed!" Terry Forsey, Chairman of The Travers Foundation, said, "Over the last few years, we have helped showcase the incredible local singing talent. Working with Kay, we're helping these Travers Rising Stars to become more accomplished and professional. We're equipping them to take the big step onto a national or international stage." Kay added, "During our singing lessons, students will learn about breathing, posture, tone, pitching, belting, extending their vocal range and much more! It's truly a pleasure watching students reach their goals while seeing their potential step by step, and I'm looking forward to helping these Travers Rising Stars!" Life’s not fair for young people who are trying to make their mark in sports, performing and creative arts. They can be at a tremendous disadvantage. There are no apprenticeships, no government grants and no workplace training programmes. Often the only source of funding is family or friends, or nothing.
That’s simply not fair and this is the motivation behind the Travers Foundation. Founded in 2012, The Travers Foundation provides vital financial support to help young people to pursue their dreams in sport, creative or performing arts. We are a team of volunteers, which means every penny we raise goes directly towards helping local young people from Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, and Rutland. Since our inception we have spent almost £300,000 funding over 250 young people. - We’ve helped fund skilled young people to progress from local winners to world champions, winning over 1,500 medals in local, national, and international competitions. - We’ve helped local musicians to record and release their debut albums. - And we’ve helped aspiring actors and producers to launch their acting, film making and production careers. What support is available?
"The financial challenge was the biggest hurdle. I can’t talk enough about how grateful I am for your support. The Travers Foundation has lifted a giant pressure off me and gave me the most incredible experience of my life!"  To The Travers Foundation Thank you so much for the grant to pay for my flight to the USA and made my dream a reality! I successfully applied for competition support for sportspeople and spent the summer (from June 24th to August 16th) touring the East Coast of America with Spartans Drum and Bugle Corps. We spent everyday rehearsing for up to 10 hours, learning from the best of the best! My coaches were alumni of world class corps and I learnt so much from them. I gained proper technique, learnt new tosses, new tricks, my dance abilities were pushed, my confidence and performance quality was enhanced and just from all the rehearsals my stamina improved! Everything was on a completely different level to the Colourguard I had experienced back home. Performing on this global stage has been the peak of my colourguard career and it was absolutely incredible!  We competed 15 times, with 10 of those competitions being in the final 2 weeks and a half! Spartans won 4th place in the Open Class category which meant we were one of the top 25 corps in the USA. This allowed us to surpass a couple of world corps and compete in the world championships at the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indiana! It was on a field unlike any other I’ve ever performed on and the whole experience was electrifying! Sharing the experience with 100 other people who were just as passionate about performing made it so much more special and I really became part of a family during my summer at Spartans; I miss everyone so much. Since coming back from my summer of a lifetime, I competed with my local drum corps Liberty Drum Corps! We won championships of the championship league at the British Youth Band Association finals! I’ve also succeeded in recruiting more members and have been able to get us better equipment, teach the kids proper technique and I’ve also incorporated some of the group activities we used to do at Spartans to bring the entirety of Liberty Drum Corps together - not just improving the teamwork of the Colourguard section but the entire youth group! It created more ensemble time and made the entire corps a whole lot closer. The role of section leaders at Spatans was a lot more organised and I brought this to Liberty too! Now the section leaders of Liberty Youth Group meet up once a month to discuss improvements to liberty’s rehearsals making it a youth group that’s really run by the members themselves - our corps director has been really encouraging and supportive of our suggestions and it’s allowing leadership qualities to bloom within members that have previously not been so proactive in the corps. It’s been rewarding to see their growth!  I love this sport so much and experiencing it at its highest level is something I will remember for the rest of my life. I improved so much more than my colorguard skills. Travelling to a country I’d never been to before to live with 100 people I’d never met before for nearly 3 months is something I’ll always be so proud of myself for doing! It improved my confidence and my ability to push past both mental and physical limits. I was only planning on going to perform over in the USA once but I really am considering doing it again this summer (it’s an activity you can only partake in under the age of 21)! The financial aspect of it all (considering I only work part time and am still saving to go to university) was the most difficult hurdle and the Travers Foundation really made it possible for me. I can’t talk enough about how grateful I am for your support - it lifted a giant pressure off me and I had the most incredible experience of my life! Thank you to The Travers Foundation,
Riana Ao. |
