Hargreaves Foundation Supports Girls’ Basketball at LDM
We’re pleased to share that we has received funding from the Hargreaves Foundation to expand our girls’ basketball offer in Leeds.
Thanks to this support, we can continue to run free weekly community basketball sessions for girls—making the game accessible to those who might otherwise miss out.
A big part of the project is about developing leaders. We’ll be training up 20 young women aged 14–17 in refereeing, officiating, and coaching, giving them the confidence and skills to step into leadership roles in sport, where girls are still hugely underrepresented in our region.
We’re also partnering with Dixons Trinity Chapeltown to run a girls-only afterschool club, a stones throw from our Mandela Centre home. Alongside this, we’ll launch a brand-new U12 Girls Team, helping us build the girls’ programme from the grassroots up.
The programme will be led our new Programme and Girls Basketball Officer Olga Deumeni Torres, who knows the LDM journey first-hand—starting as a player, moving into volunteering, and now stepping up as a coach and role model for the next generation.
This project builds on the important work we’ve been doing over the last few years to remove barriers for girls to take part in basketball. Thanks to the Hargreaves Foundation, we can keep creating spaces where girls feel safe, supported, and inspired to achieve more; we can’t wait to see the impact this will have over the next year.
“I’m so excited to be starting a new season of coaching. Every year brings new opportunities to grow, learn, and push ourselves to new levels, and I can’t wait to be a part of that journey with this group.
Women’s sport development is something I care about deeply. As a former LDM player myself, I know how important it is to have role models and pathways to follow. That’s why I’m so passionate about creating opportunities for young girls to see what’s possible and to believe in themselves—just like I once did.
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If you are interested in getting involved in any of our girls projects, get in contact - Olga.Torres@letsdomore.org.uk .
