Using sport, fitness and lived experience to create opportunity for young people and communities.
MEM Academy CIC uses sport and fitness as a tool to support at-risk and vulnerable children and young people aged 11–21. We provide inclusive access to physical activity, mentoring, wellbeing support, accredited learning pathways, work placements and employment opportunities.
We work in communities affected by deprivation, youth violence, social isolation, anti-social behaviour and unequal access to health, education and opportunity. Our work also extends into prison and resettlement settings, where we provide fitness career workshops and progression support for people preparing for release.
- Lived experience at the centreCoaches and mentors who have walked the same roads as the young people they support.
- Sport as the entry pointFitness gets young people through the door — mentoring, wellbeing and progression follow.
- Prevention and progression togetherWeekly sessions plus clear routes into courses, work placements and employment.
- Community-rooted, not top-downDelivered in the estates and neighbourhoods that need it, by people from those communities.
Why we exist
Why MEM Academy exists
Too many young people grow up without equal access to safe spaces, positive role models, physical activity, mentoring, training or employment pathways. MEM Academy uses sport, fitness and lived experience to engage young people who are often missed by mainstream provision and help them build confidence, wellbeing, skills and positive futures.
Who we support
Who we support
MEM Academy supports children, young people and young adults aged 11–21 who face barriers to opportunity, wellbeing and positive activity.
young people aged 11–21
young people at risk of exclusion, offending or exploitation
young people affected by social isolation or poor wellbeing
NEET young people or those at risk of becoming NEET
young people from underserved estates and priority neighbourhoods
young people from Black, Asian and racially minoritised communities
young people lacking equal access to sport, health and opportunity
prison leavers and justice-experienced young adults where programmes are funded
What we deliver
What MEM Academy delivers
Sport and fitness engagement
Structured sport, boxing, basketball, strength training and general fitness sessions that give young people a positive, safe and consistent activity route.
Mentoring and lived experience
Relatable coaches and mentors use lived experience, trust and consistency to support young people through challenges and help them see positive alternatives.
Wellbeing and confidence
Sessions support physical activity, confidence, routine, emotional regulation, self-esteem and reduced isolation.
NEET and progression support
Participants identified as NEET or at risk of becoming NEET can be supported toward accredited courses, volunteering, work placements and employment opportunities.
Prison and resettlement workshops
MEM provides fitness career workshops and progression support for people preparing for release, helping them explore training routes, positive identity and legal income pathways.
Community leadership
MEM develops local role models and lived-experience coaches who can give back to their communities through sport, fitness and mentoring.
Delivery in action
On the ground with young people and communities
Real sessions, real coaches, real participants — sport and fitness delivery across parks, estates and community spaces.
Why lived experience matters
Many of the young people MEM supports have experienced exclusion, poverty, violence, discrimination, instability or contact with the justice system. Relatable staff and coaches with lived experience help build trust faster, challenge negative beliefs and show that change is possible. MEM believes lived experience should be developed responsibly into leadership, employment and community contribution.
Creating pathways for reformed ex-offenders
As part of our commitment to opportunity and rehabilitation, MEM creates routes for reformed ex-offenders and justice-experienced people who are interested in fitness, coaching and community work. Where individuals are suitable, safeguarded and appropriately trained, MEM helps them explore fitness qualifications, volunteering, work placements, mentoring roles and future coaching opportunities.
Partnership approach
How we work with partners
To achieve our goals, MEM works with funders, grant-awarding bodies, course providers, youth organisations, local authorities, housing associations, community groups and justice-sector partners. We recruit relatable coaches and mentors with lived experience, deliver structured sport and wellbeing sessions, and connect participants to practical next steps.
Your funding
What your funding helps deliver
Free sport and fitness sessions
Youth mentoring and personal development
Equipment, venue hire and travel support
Accredited course access and qualification support
Work placement and employment pathway support
Prison and resettlement workshops
Staff training and safeguarding
Lived-experience workforce development
Monitoring, evaluation and impact reporting
Measurement
Impact areas we measure
- attendance and retention
- improved physical activity
- improved confidence and wellbeing
- reduced social isolation
- improved behaviour and engagement
- progression into training, volunteering or work
- accredited course enrolment
- work placement progression
- youth leadership and peer mentoring
- safer communities and reduced anti-social behaviour indicators where data is available
- prison leaver engagement and progression where funded
Funding routes
Ways funders can support MEM Academy
Fund a local youth sport programme
Support weekly sport, fitness and mentoring sessions in priority neighbourhoods.
Fund NEET progression pathways
Help young people access courses, work placements, employability support and positive next steps.
Fund prison and resettlement workshops
Support fitness career advice, mentoring and progression routes for people preparing for release.
Fund lived-experience coach development
Help MEM train, safeguard and develop community coaches who can become trusted role models.
Fund equipment, venues and access costs
Remove practical barriers that stop young people from participating.
Fund monitoring and evaluation
Support stronger impact reporting, case studies and evidence for long-term sustainability.
Fund opportunity through sport, fitness and lived experience.
MEM Academy works with funders and grant partners who want to support youth prevention, community wellbeing, skills development, prison resettlement and inclusive access to opportunity. If your funding priorities include young people, health inequalities, safer communities, employability or lived-experience leadership, we would welcome a conversation.