London Youth is to extend its ‘Getting Active’ programme to an additional 2,850 children and young people after new investment from the London Marathon Charitable Trust.

The three-year investment totalling £500,000 means that the innovative sports and physical activity, which also focuses on improving mental wellbeing and peer relationships, can be extended to 38 community youth organisations located in outer London boroughs.

‘Getting Active’ also aims to develop more positive attitudes towards sport and physical activity.

Zoe Mellis, Director of Programmes at London Youth, said: “The Trust’s belief in community youth organisations is something that we are incredibly grateful for.

“Now we can continue to help young Londoners across the city, particularly those in outer boroughs, to improve their physical and mental wellbeing and reap the benefits of playing regular sport.”

London Youth say they will work with trusted community youth organisations to create activity hubs that focus on fun, social experiences, improving wellbeing and offering active play and/or participation opportunities that young people want.

The scheme is supported by the charity’s commitment to develop the next generation of coaches, leaders and role models, through access to training and ongoing support.

London Youth is one of the lead partners in the #21by21 campaign which is aimed at encouraging 21,000 sports coaches and volunteers to become trained in mental health awareness by the year 2021.The other campaign partners are Mind, StreetGames, Youth Sport Trust, Sport Wales, Dame Kelly Holmes Trust, Training in Mind, West Midlands Combined Authority, Mental Health First Aid England, York St John University and Edge Hill University.

The campaign's target is to ensure sports coaches and volunteers have the three core skills needed to protect the people they work with: first aid, safeguarding and mental health awareness.

You can read more about the campaign at www.21by21.info. Managed by ConnectSport, the campaign features sport and mental health news and features from across the sector, and hosts a running total of sports coaches and volunteers that have been trained in mental health awareness by the campaign partners. It also showcases a number of providers for mental health awareness training schemes, so that organisations can upskill their coaches and volunteers.

For more information, contact hello@connectsport.co.uk.