THE first Twinning Project delivery from MFC Foundation at HMP Kirklevington Grange has reached a successful conclusion.
Each week for a month, two MFC Foundation staff, Steven Bell and Liam Watson, delivered a Leadership Through Football course designed to give offenders new skills that could lead to a new start at the end of their sentence.
“Delivering this course has provided the participants an opportunity to gain a leadership award, more importantly it has also brought a group of men together.” said Liam.
Each week there was a healthy number of participants, the vast majority returning from the week before, testament to a course which officials and participants alike greeted with great enthusiasm.
Gary Martin, Physical Education Officer within the prison, worked closely with the Foundation. He enthused: “HMP Kirklevington Grange is proud to collaborate with MFC Foundation as part of the Twinning Project.
“Our first course was a great success, engaging prisoners to improve their mental and physical health while providing them with a qualification to help improve their life chances upon release.”
It was the personal touch which brought the most satisfaction for Steven and Liam, with Liam concluding: “Developing and unearthing attributes they didn’t realise they had, that was it for me. It truly was a pleasure to be involved and fantastic to see the positive change.”
The Foundation’s Operations Manager John Fothergill outlined the reasons behind the programme.
“With almost 70% of those in custody unemployed at time of imprisonment, we aim to use the power of football to inspire individuals to find positive pathways into employment and improved life chances upon release.”