James and Laura's Fundraiser
Fundraising on behalf of The True Athlete Project
Whakapapa
£413.62
Raised
10
Donations
£950
Goal
Hello everyone. My name is James Verdin and I am fundraising to support another young athlete to have the opportunity to take part in the True Athlete Project 2023.
Last year, I was given the opportunity to apply for this project by The Rotary Club, which has enabled me to take part in this years cohort.
The True Athlete Project is a unique development programme which aims to support young athletes not only with their performance but also their mental well-being. Each athlete is assigned a mentor, these are world-class current and former athletes, they work alongside the young person through the program.
My mentor is Laura Warren who is a team GB and team Wales lacrosse player. We speak every week via zoom, talking through the programme and learning together. There are whole cohort zoom meetings where we all learn together and chat and share our experiences.
My favourite part of the TAP has been meeting so many new friends from all over the world and from so many different sports. Also, speaking in these meetings has given me so much confidence. I have autism and I used to find it difficult to communicate with new people but I have felt so included in the group that I now love to share my thoughts and ideas.
Laura and I are now good friends and we wanted to help another young athlete to have the opportunity I have had. We are going to do a sponsored event where we are both going to hit 100 golf balls (my sport), throw 100 lacrosse balls (Laura’s sport) and walk 10 laps of the lake at The Vale Sport Centre in Cardiff (approx 10 miles).
We would be so grateful for any support you can give us.
James. X
What is Whakapapa?
Whakapapa is The True Athlete Project's summer fundraising campaign. When we designed this fundraising challenge, we knew that it needed to be about more than just raising money; it should also bring the TAP community together and build on our shared mission to create a better world through sport.
To this end, we have been inspired by a Māori concept, which is at the heart of the New Zealand All Blacks culture, called Whakapapa.
Whakapapa says that each of us are part of an unbreakable chain of people, stretching back in time to our first ancestors and forward in time to the end of time. This chain represents our tribe. We share a purpose with these people. We belong. It is a powerful idea that suggests that we will be judged not on our material successes in life, but on what we did for our tribe.
With this fundraising campaign we aim to connect the current cohort of mentors and mentees on our Global Mentoring Programme with next years generation of mentoring pairings.
This is about both giving back and paying it forward, and we envisage it becoming a wave that passes through each cohort, connecting them in an unbreakable chain.
#CommunityResponsibility
Who are The True Athlete Project?
TAP is a US and UK based charity which aims to build a more compassionate world through sport. We design and deliver a range of creative, mindfulness-based programmes for athletes and coaches at all levels of sport - from primary school children to Olympians and Parlaympians. We work with 40+ sports, in over 15 countries.
We also deliver a pioneering athlete mentoring programme, pairing world-class athletes with young people in a year-long nurturing relationship. Our aim is to unleash sports true potential to holistically nurture the long-term personal development of each and every athlete.
Donor Wall8
Stuart Verdin | £105.72
Elizabeth Bailey | £20
Well done James. What a great scheme to be part of.
Peter | £105.72
Amanda Roberts | £50
Helga Chapman | £21.36
Debbie Rock
Well done James & Laura. Look forward to seeing further successes and that handicap come down even further James.
Clare Fanner | £20
What a great scheme. Well done James and Laura.
Jayne little | £20