The Matchroom Sport Charitable Foundation has donated £40,000 to support Paces, the leading specialist centre, charity and school for individuals with Cerebral Palsy and motor disorders.
Matchroom’s Jason Ferguson, Director of the World Snooker Tour, recently visited Paces, based in Sheffield – the home of the showpiece World Snooker Championship – and saw the work to support children and adults for himself.
The money will go towards the New Home for Paces campaign as the charity’s special school plans its move to Thorncliffe Hall where it will be able to offer more support to more children with life-changing skills – such as sitting, standing, walking, speaking, communication and self-care – using conductive education.
Jason Ferguson, Director of World Snooker and President of the World Snooker Federation, said:
“It was clear from visiting Paces just how special a place it is, and we are proud to be able to support a charity that makes such a difference in a city that is so important to the World Snooker Tour and Matchroom.
“Meeting some of the children and adults the charity helps, including 19-year-old Jack, whose life has been transformed through the care of the teachers and staff and their innovative approach through conductive education, was inspirational.”
Susan Hearn, Chair of the Matchroom Sport Charitable Foundation, added: “Donating this money is the least we can do to ensure Paces can continue its work and offer the best possible future to the individuals it supports.”
Julie Booth, Head of Fundraising and Communications at Paces, said:
“This is an incredible donation which will make a huge difference to the lives of the young people we help here at Paces as we look forward to our School moving to a new, fit-for-purpose home.
“Matchroom Foundation’s backing will also allow us to provide our life-changing conductive education to even more children in the future giving them the opportunity to reach their potential.
“Thank you to Jason and the Matchroom team for their amazing support at a time when all charities are trying to recover from the impact of the pandemic.”