McKillop’s SPAR, Ballymena donated kits and equipment to Braidside Primary School.
A survey by SPAR UK has found that nearly half (46%) of parents in Northern Ireland stated that PE lessons in school are the only way their child has access to sports, with 67% agreeing that they struggle to afford to take their children to sports activities outside of school.
It comes as over 500 schools in Northern Ireland got their sports day boosted at the end of term thanks to SPAR, EUROSPAR, ViVO and ViVOXTRA’s Schools Sports Day Campaign for 2024.
McKillop’s SPAR, Ballymena donated kits to Braidside Primary School and Kirkinriola Primary School, plus equipment for those all-important races including bean bags, skipping ropes and cones, alongside water and healthy snacks to keep pupils going throughout the event.
In total, over 600 sports day kits were supplied to primary schools across the country from their local stores – an increase on the number of kits distributed in 2023.
McKillop’s SPAR, Ballymena donated kits and equipment to Kirkonriola Primary School.
Eamonn McKillop who owns McKillop’s SPAR, Ballymena commented:
“It is an important end to the school year for children’s parents to gather and enjoy sports day with them, so we were delighted to support two local primary schools in making their event the best it could be.
“We see the families everyday in our store, so we were also happy to attend the event and cheer everybody on, while keeping them fed and watered with water and snacks courtesy of our store. This is an important initiative which we are proud to support every year.”
Bronagh Luke from SPAR NI said it was an essential part of their community outreach:
“There are over 500 SPAR, EUROSPAR and ViVO branded stores in NI, which provide support in many ways to their local primary schools throughout the year, so providing the Sports Day kits to schools is a fantastic way to round off the summer term and school year. Keeping active and enhancing the health of those in our local communities is a key priority for our stores as we continue to nurture the neighbourhoods we operate in.”
The research conducted by SPAR in February 2024 also found that 61% of respondents in Northern Ireland agreed it was expensive to buy sports kit and equipment to accommodate children’s varying sporting interests.
School children were also surveyed, and 85% of those in Northern Ireland said they enjoyed sports and PE classes at school a lot or a bit, higher than any other region in the UK.
SPAR NI’s School Sports Day initiative began over 12 years ago, and has supported thousands of schools, helping enhance their end of term fixtures in the past decade, and Bronagh Luke says it is one that has been embraced by retailers and communities alike:
“This is a really valuable engagement tool for our retailers to form meaningful connections with those in their community. These partnerships are created to engage with young people and help our store areas thrive across Northern Ireland and we’re very proud to see them grow year upon year.
“We wish all our sports day participants a very happy summer holiday!”