Krupp Foundation supports the establishment founding of a school sports association in the north of Essen
“RISE e.V. School Sports Club for Essen” – this is the name of the newly founded sports club at the Gustav-Heinemann Comprehensive School in Essen Schonnebeck. The name stands for Respect, Inclusion, Strength and Education, and aims to make sports more accessible to pupils, thereby also promoting their social participation.
The starting point is the low proportion of pupils who are active in association sports: fewer than ten per cent of boys and less than five per cent of girls at the Gustav-Heinemann-Schule are members of a sports club. The project therefore aims in particular to support pupils from socially disadvantaged backgrounds. The school sports association is based on the ‘Open Area’ project, which has been successfully trialled for the past year. This is an open sports programme for the 10 to 18 age group, led by students and run under the supervision of Prof. Dr Ulf Gebken of the Institute of Sport and Movement Sciences at the University of Duisburg-Essen.
The sports activities offered by RISE e. V. are also led and scientifically evaluated by students from the University of Duisburg-Essen. The club’s programme ranges from basketball, dance and acrobatics to juggling. In addition, courses exclusively for girls are offered in order to specifically spark their interest.
RISE e.V., the school sports association for Essen, is one of the first school sports associations in Germany that offers open sports programmes and, at the same time, the first to be based in a socially and structurally disadvantaged neighbourhood and to be scientifically monitored. The project therefore serves as a model with national appeal.
“The Krupp Foundation has been engaged in the field of sport for many years, with a particular focus on sport for children and young people. It is particularly important to us that sporting activity not only enhances physical and cognitive performance but also increases the social participation of children and young people,” said Dr Michaela Muylkens, member of the Executive Board of the Krupp Foundation.