The Panathlon Foundation is delighted to have the long-term support of the St. James’s Place Charitable Foundation.
St. James’s Place Charitable Foundation (SJP) is the grant-making charitable arm of the St. James’s Place Wealth Management Group. The Foundation has raised and distributed in excess of £100 million to good causes since its establishment in 1992.
The main theme of the Foundation’s work is to support children and young people (aged up to 25), especially:
- Young people with physical or mental health difficulties or life-threatening or degenerative conditions, and
- Young people who are socially or economically disadvantaged
Panathlon has received core funding from the Foundation for many years and has used that amazing support to expand our programmes right across the country.
Panathlon has grown from just a few dozen schools involved when we received our first support in 2008 to expand Panathlon in to Kent for the first time, right through to our latest agreement with SJP which takes us through to 2025.
SJP have invested well over £2m during this time and been responsible for making Panathlon a national charity.
In December 2020, SJP won the ‘Best Partnership with a National Children’s Charity’ prize at The Better Society Awards for its work with Panathlon.
The Better Society Network’s Better Society Awards celebrate the efforts that commercial organisations make to create a better society. They reward commercial companies who are helping create a better, more equal, ethical and sustainable world for all.
The huge structural growth of Panathlon – not only geographically but in the depth of programmes we offer (such as Primary Panathlon, X-tend, Secondary Panathlon and the stand-alone competitions such as swimming, ten-pin bowling, football, boccia etc) owes so much to the long-term core support from SJP.
SJP colleagues are regular visitors to Panathlon competitions where they volunteer as Leaders, officiating and guiding the young competitors around the sporting activities. These experiences are hugely rewarding and enriching.
After volunteering at a Panathlon competition in Windermere, Cumbria, SJP Executive Manager, Marcus Fellows, said: “To see where the money is going and see the positive effect it’s having with your own eyes is so impactful and rewarding. It was unbelievably well put together and all the children got an immense amount from it.”
Catherine Ind, Head of the SJP Charitable Foundation, said: “That our own SJP community can take part and get involved in these events is superb. It then becomes very real and is a huge motivating factor for our own community to raise more money and continue to help them. It’s not just about handing over a grant – there is engagement in a wider sense. That’s why we like Panathlon because it’s a multi-level partnership.”
Catherine added: “Historically the Foundation has wanted to help smaller charities make a transformational difference. Over the years we’ve seen Panathlon go from strength to strength and make precisely that difference.”
“The many personal stories we’ve heard during that time from Panathlon competitors about the impact it’s made on their lives are fantastic.”
Liz Johnson, Paralympic gold medal winner and Panathlon Ambassador, said: “It’s fantastic that the St. James’s Place Charitable Foundation has continued to invest in Panathlon, which will create many thousands more sporting opportunities in the years ahead for young people with disabilities and special educational needs. Thank you for supporting Panathlon.”
Find out more at the St. James’s Place Charitable Foundation website.
