Member Article

Chorley-based Entrepreneur Changing the Holiday Sports Provision Across the North West Is Set To Take To The Stage At ‘Theatre Of Dreams’

Nicola Cleaver, 39, an entrepreneurial mum of three from Chorley, Lancashire is excited to announce that they will be taking to the stage at no other than the ‘Theatre of Dreams’, to share their mission to make sure as many children as possible are being fed and engaging in fun activities during any school holiday.

This is driven by her passion to ensure all children are given the same opportunities regardless of their background and circumstances. She is also encouraging other entrepreneurs to seek out ‘The Hidden Help’ in their industries and hoping to inspire them to look at how they can help others whilst growing their business.

Nicola will join global motivational speaker and award winning business leader of ‘I Am The Queen Bee Movement (#IATQB)’ Dani Wallace, 38, from Preston, who is hosting a 2 day event, Bee Inspired. Nicola is on the bill alongside 20 other entrepreneurs, on stage at Manchester United’s ground, overcoming their fear of public speaking with a view to inspiring and motivating others during stressful times. This fundraising event will also benefit charity foundation, The Fly Anyway Foundation - an organisation supporting survivors of domestic violence who are looking to rebuild their lives and independence.

Alongside the talks, well known brands such as; Vodafone, Natwest, and Nestle will also be on hand to share knowledge and advice, supporting the attendees, alongside tech startup, V1ce, who’s already got clients including; Google, Emirates and McDonalds using their high tech interactive business cards. Dani has curated the line up and partners with a view to integrating big and small business consciously, so all can learn from each other.

On being involved in this event, supported by household names, and being given a prestigious platform through which to share their message, Nicola Cleaver said: “This is a big deal for me. Standing up on stage is one thing, but being a part of an event of this size and gravitas is something else all together.

“I am excited to step up and share my message in none other than the “Theatre of Dreams”. My business is very purpose fuelled and so speaking within an event about empowerment and community and knowledge sharing to spark ideas, is a great fit.

“I am on a mission to close the gap between the social classes, and the holiday provisions available to children based on their economic background, working to make sure as many children as possible have access to services that get them active, and nourished, over the school holidays - and not just the children who have parents who can afford it.

“I made a commitment to myself earlier this year to share my story and mission in a way that can have a positive impact on others and I’m excited to have the opportunity to do that.”

Driven by her passion to ensure all children are given the same opportunities in life, Nicola is determined to close the gap between the rich and the poor via her passion and purpose driven organisation Quality Sport Holiday Clubs, which is serving communities across the North West with plans to expand across the UK.

With over 15 years experience, Nicola’s mission is to reach as many children as she can and ensure they are having positive experiences throughout their school holidays and are being kept safe, engaged and fed, regardless of their family circumstances. Quality Sport Holiday Clubs ran 8 provisions during the summer of 2022 (3 in Chorley, 3 in Bury, 1 in Bolton and 1 in Oldham), reaching approx. 650 children, through the Government supported HAF programme (Holiday & Activity Food Fund), the funding they needed to enable them to reach those in need. This has seen them deliver over 10,000 individual sessions and provide 10,000 lunches over this summer alone.

Having experienced life as a single parent when she became a teen mum, Nicola is all too aware of how much external support is needed to help bring up a child. She was lucky to have a supportive family, but realises that there are so many parents in need who are struggling alone and this also drives her passion to use her business to reach out to those less fortunate than herself.

Her experience as a psychology graduate, a qualified dance teacher, business owner and school governor… also all plays into her role now. Whilst Nicola is keen that Quality Sport Holiday Clubs continue delivering the HAF programme, expanding to reach even more regions, she has company expansion in sight for 10 locations in place by the end of the year, 15 for 2023 and 20 sites for 2024. She is also in talks with a Special Educational Needs (SEN) school to offer provision there next year too.

Nicola’s aspirations and ultimate goal is to get to ‘the top’ and have influence on the criteria of holiday club programmes being supported by councils and guiding them on the best way to deliver them to communities, so that as many children and families as possible can be supported with provision by the sector as a whole growing. She said: “I want to invest in myself and my team to get us heard and be influencers in our sector, this will then enable me to help other business owners in my industry and push the boundaries to make change”.

Inspired by the children who come to her and take every opportunity offered to them and run with it, Nicola said: “If they can do it, then I certainly can! I won’t stop until we are a flagship provider in the North West and actually have a say on how the HAF programme is shaped and delivered as we are the ones on the ground working with these children and their families which gives us such an insight on what can be put in place to best serve them.”

“We are doing great work and really making headway with the children who attend our provisions; however we only see them at Easter, Summer and Christmas. No funding is offered during the half terms so it is 12+ weeks in between each time we see them. I feel there needs to be a more consistent approach with provision being offered to eligible children all year round in the form of before and after school clubs, extra curricular activities as well as in the school holidays.”

Bee Inspired Organiser, Dani Wallace said: “I can’t wait to see Nicola take to the stage - her message is so powerful and needs to be heard by more people! Public speaking fear (glossophobia) still sees the majority of people shy away from spreading their message in this way so Nicola is in a very small minority of people being brave enough to make an impact in this way - we need to get behind them with our support!”.

Nicola will take to the global stage on day 1 to share how helping others is so important in business and encouraging other entrepreneurs in the room to seek out ‘The Hidden Help’ in their industries to enable them to help others whilst growing their business. Nicola said; “Doing this talk is tackling two things for me, one: to share my mission and passion to ensure as many children as possible are being fed and engaging in fun activities during the school holidays and two: to encourage other entrepreneurs to think about how their business can help others and be the change needed in their industry.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Chocolate PR .