Irwin Mitchell become official partner for CP Sport virtual events
Irwin Mitchell has been a long standing corporate member of National Disability Sports Organisation CP Sport, and supported the charity during the pandemic by becoming the official sponsor of the first ever virtual CP Sport Awards in 2020. Now, the national firm has extended its partnership to support CP Sport's virtual events programme through to next summer.
Over the past 18 months CP Sport has adapted its delivery model and successfully held events and services online. These have included online cafes, virtual sport challenges, fundraising events, an online club finder and a new equipment rental service. In 2020, CP Sport held 29 virtual cafes with 21 guest speakers for over 50 guests. This week, the guest speaker was Paralympic champion Tully Kearney who shared her Tokyo experiences with the 16 people in attendance.
In September, CP Sport's ‘on the ground’ events resumed with its flagship event, the National Athletics Championships on the 18th September followed by a ‘Have a go athletics day’ on the 19th September in Coventry. In addition, because of the online event success, the organisation will continue to run a virtual programme so that people can feel safe and confident as they return to sport, get involved in physical activity for the first time with the support of experts and have fun and stay socially connected more regularly.
Approximately 160,000 people in the UK have cerebral palsy and despite the benefits of sport and physical activity being well documented there are still barriers for people to access and enjoy being active. CP Sport are striving to break down these barriers with the support of its partners.
This summer, CP Sport has also launched a new website, branding and resources, its aim is to encourage even more people with cerebral palsy to get involved through a more attractive and accessible website and fun and exciting branding.
Adi Fawcett, Chief Operating Officer at CP Sport, said:
"During the pandemic Irwin Mitchell provided great support for CP Sport and our beneficiaries. Through our partnership we delivered a successful virtual Annual Awards event in December 2020 and we are very excited to be working with Irwin Mitchell on our virtual event programme over the next year. Our partnership will enable us to continue providing a range of opportunities for people with cerebral palsy to get involved, get into sport and support them to be physically active throughout their lives. We look forward to developing our partnership and our programmes over the next year with Irwin Mitchell and would like to thank them for all their continued support for CP Sport and our beneficiaries."
Jennifer Cawthorne, Partner and specialist medical negligence lawyer at Irwin Mitchell, said:
"We’re delighted to be continuing our support of CP Sport, a charity which does fantastic work to help people with cerebral palsy access and get involved in a wide-range of sports. Through our work, we know the positive life-changing impact that sports can have, providing many benefits both physical and also wellbeing.
"CP Sport has a number of activities planned from September onwards, both face to face and virtually, which we are thrilled to be a part of, and we look forward to building on our valued partnership over the year ahead."
Irwin Mitchell will be the headline sponsor for the CP Sport online adult cafés and young people cafés, and it’s Annual Awards evening and 20th anniversary celebrations in December 2021.
CP Sport is the National Disability Sports Organisation supporting people with cerebral palsy to be able to access and enjoy being physically active throughout their lives. Visit the CP Sport website for more information.
