The Stonebridge-based Jason Roberts Foundation continue to make great strides in the community and overseas in Grenada as they look to push on even further this year.

The foundation, who are approaching their 10-year anniversary, seek to support young people, celebrate diversity and promote respect.

The Roberts family hold a real affinity with Brent – as they have done for over two decades – and have made great strides in the work they have been doing, particuarly in the last three years, with several key projects being introduced.

The foundation’s disability programme, funded by John Lyon’s Charity and the Peter Harrison Foundation, targets the borough’s most marginalised children and young people aged 12 to 25, many of whom have learning and/or physical disabilities, mental health issues and health conditions.

In addition, they deliver training and development programmes tackling youth crime, as well as mentoring sessions.

The foundation’s Pavilion base is pivotal to them delivering these programmes on the scale they do, proving to be a vital hub for the community to access.

The London Youth Premier League, aimed at creating pathways for young people looking for a career in the game in some capacity, has been a huge success since being introduced last January.

The league, which also offers employment and volunteering opportunities, has helped to bridge the gap between grassroots and academy/league football, with many success stories already coming to light.

A key supporter with this initiative, as well as other ongoing projects, has been Hyde Housing. Programme manager Sarah Willis said: “The Hyde Group is incredibly proud of its long-standing partnership with the Jason Roberts Foundation.

“It is one of the ways that we are investing in young people in Brent, enabling them to develop skills, confidence and aspiration through participation in sport and education.”

Otis Roberts, uncle of Jason and CEO of the foundation added: “We are extremely proud of the way in which young people are embracing so many new sports, training and education pathways through our many programmes.

“In 2016 we had a lot of success with our education programmes in particular, so we are looking to continue that and take that forward even more, as well as the many other initiatives.

“In additon to this the foundation have held a strong relationship with the local housing association over the last decade, working in partnership across employability, training and citizenship.

“We hope to build on its family-targeted programmes and work with the elderly on several fitness and also community engagement programmes.

“We are extremely grateful to our funders and partners, volunteers and mentors for assisting us to expand our reach locally, regionally and internationally.”