Building Media Leaders Through Basketball

Aim

We aim to use our basketball programmes to develop a media workforce, focusing on young people who are not in employment or training.

Introduction 

The London Basketball Association (LBA) is one of the few charities in London that uses sport — basketball in particular — as a vehicle for both community engagement and employability programmes.

Our slogan, “Basketball is the game, social change is the mission,” is reflected in every one of our programmes and charitable initiatives.

Spanning from youth groups to adult teams, casual weekly sessions to official leagues, the LBA has shaped what it means to build a community around the game.

As part of our commitment to supporting disadvantaged young people beyond the basketball court and into employment and financial independence,  we are using our basketball activities as a hub for a new employment programme called: ‘Building Media Leaders Through Basketball’

Building Media Leaders Through Basketball

LBA runs 13 weekly basketball sessions, 10 weeks of holiday camps annually, and 10 one-off community events each year, while supporting young people to become qualified as basketball personnel. 

To capture the powerful impact LBA has on disadvantaged communities, we will upskill 25 young people who are Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET) from our basketball sessions. They will be trained through media workshops and offered paid work opportunities across our programmes. 

The latest research from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) revealed that 923,000 young people aged 16–24 in the UK are NEETs. Young people from disadvantaged backgrounds — who make up 94% of LBA’s users — are twice as likely to be NEET compared to their better-off peers. 

Under the mentorship of LBA’s marketing and media experts, we will equip NEET young people with in-demand digital and media skills — then give them paid work opportunities across our programmes, helping them build a portfolio, gain valuable experience, and transition into sustainable paid media careers.

Financial Wellbeing Through Media Training

At its core, the ‘Building Media Leaders Through Basketball’ project is a financial empowerment programme. By providing disadvantaged young people with paid opportunities and skills training in digital marketing and social media — one of the UK’s fastest-growing industries — we are giving them a route to sustainable income and long-term financial independence.

Our programme will support young people to achieve financial wellbeing through 3 key stages:

Stage 1 – Skills for Independence: Training in photography, video editing, storytelling, social media, and digital marketing — real skills that open up freelance and salaried work. 

Stage 2 –  Immediate Income: Once trained, media trainees get paid work with LBA, earning on average £45 - £50/hour at our events.

Stage 3 – Career-Ready Futures: We will support trainees to build a portfolio, get references, and connect with further opportunities in the creative industries.

Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made