Alive and Kicking

During the first lockdown in 2020, Alive and Kicking (AK) were quick to respond to the COVID-19 crisis thanks to the kind support of the City Bridge Trust. The grant enabled AK to develop a play based education curriculum, delivered through local London partners, that would teach young people about how COVID-19 developed into a pandemic, how they could stay healthy in isolation, how they could return to normal life safely once restrictions are lifted and how they could help stop the spread of similar viruses in the future. With the support of health professionals, AK developed two COVID-19 education curriculums. One was designed to be used by individuals or households under strict COVID-19 measures and the other was specifically for small groups of young people which could be delivered safely when restrictions eased. This approach has meant local partners have been able to easily adapt their delivery approach as the government has changed lockdown rules in London. 52 organisations across London, including schools, sports charities, colleges, and Premier League football foundations were empowered to roll out both curriculum programmes to young people. This meant that 8,684 young people were able to access the programme to build their knowledge about COVID-19. 100% of respondent organisations said participant knowledge (for example knowing how COVID-19 spreads) had improved over the duration of curriculum delivery (37% much improved, 63% somewhat improved.) 75% of respondent organisations said participant behaviour (for example doing more to reduce risks like avoiding shaking hands) had improved over the duration of curriculum delivery (33% much improved, 67% somewhat improved). 25% said participant behaviour had stayed the same. 77% of respondent organisations said participant attitudes (for example, being more willing to talk about COVID-19 and their own situations) had improved over the duration of curriculum delivery (57% much improved, 43% somewhat improved). 23% said participant attitudes stayed the same. Unfortunately, COVID-19 is still very much part of everyday life, so the two education curriculums remain relevant. They continue to be rolled out across AK’s London partners and requests continue to be received from new organisations for access to resources and support in delivery. AK are committed to continuing to provide access to as many organisations as possible. Please do email info@aliveandkicking.org if you would like to find out more. We would like to thank the City Bridge Trust for their support and enabling AK to make an impact across the Capital.

Alive and Kicking are fortunate to have a wealth of supporters who give their time, talents and resources to help us achieve our mission. So when one of these partnerships is recognised with an award we love being able to shout about it! Fourfeet design agency are a long-standing partner of AK. They’ve made our annual reviews, built our website, helped us maintain all of the complicated behind-the-scenes-technical-wizadry and so much more. We’re delighted, then, that all of their effort has been recognized by Mighty Ally with an Award for ‘Best Visual Identity’ in their Social Venture Brand Awards 2021. Here’s what Mighty Ally had to say about the partnership: “If not for the donate button and impact data, you might not know Alive and Kicking is a social venture. Big thumbs up to London-based design agency, Fourfeet, for creating this one-of-a-kind visual identity and web design. The beauty of the brand identity is how it visually reflects the organizational strategy. Alive and Kicking combines a passion for football with a desire to improve health outcomes in Sub-Saharan Africa. Brand elements – from the logo shape to the vibrant colors – clearly nod to the energy of the sport. Combined with the humanity of its community, centering the photography of people in an electric way.”   Thank you to Jon Begg, Edward Broughton and Jon Smith for all of their hard work and support

It gives us great pleasure to share the Alive and Kicking Annual Review of 2019/20, featuring updates on our commitments to the Sustainable Development Goals; the A+K operations in Kenya and Zambia; reflections on the Ghana operation; and our response to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Thanks to the team at fourfeet for their fantastic design work.   To enlarge the font, please click ‘open’ and then download as a PDF

Here’s an amazing activity for you, created by our friend, The Anxious Artist. Can you find Ferdinand, Yankey and Schlupp in this gigantic picture puzzle? There’s also an Alive and Kicking football and an AKFC hat and Scarf to be found! Click on the image to expand the puzzle and put your eyes to the test. If you’d like to join Rachel, Les and Jeffrey as a member of AKFC just click here! See more of The Anxious Artist’s work at: @the_anxious_artist (Insta), @anxious_artist (Twitter), @TheAnxiousArtist (Facebook) The background art is from Martin Hanford’s a ‘Land of Sport’