"There are now over one million 16 to 25 year olds not in education, employment or training (NEET) in the UK. That’s nearly 1 in 5 of all young people. From listening to the young people on our programmes, we know the reasons why they are in this situation are multiple. Some are carers; others have a disability or learning difficulty. Some are homeless; or have had challenging upbringings with no role models. Others have had a better start in life, but are struggling to find work in a crowded job market at the tail end of a recession. Every young person we come across is different, but all are willing to at least try to turn things around. Through a range of personal development programmes run across the country, every one of our disadvantaged young people receives mentoring and support from a world class athlete. Since we were founded in 2008, we’ve reached over 170,000 young people across the country."