Introducing our 2025 Charity Visitors
Why we have charity visitors
The William Wates Memorial Trust supports many charities which engage with young people through sport and so in 2014, with the financial support of an alumnus, we started an initiative to invite 2 young people each year (from the charities supported by WWMT) to join us on tour for a stage.
They sometimes choose to cycle (sometimes a few kilometres, sometimes more) and sometimes choose to spend their time with our staff team. Accompanied by one of their key workers they’ll both talk after dinner about their experiences, their charity and just how the WWMT grant has helped them.
We’re really excited about our visitors this year. We know our riders will give them a warm welcome on tour and all the encouragement they need. We also know that every rider will be humbled by their stories and their tenacity. Read on to find out more …
Meet our 2 youngsters:
Jamal - Palace for Life
We’re really delighted to be joined by key worker Tom and young person Jamal from the Palace for Life’s Route to Employment scheme
Jamal is a quiet, self-contained person. He had a tough start with many family challenges, and felt that being in prison was safer than being out of prison.
He joined the Palace for Life scheme, originally on a construction course but then Tom realised that this wasn’t meeting his needs or his potential; his need was immediate income to be able to live alone.
Palace for Life found Jamal a part time job cleaning at the Crystal Palace stadium which was a huge step as Jamal “didn’t think employment was going to be part of (his) life”. Deeply proud of the fact that he was now earning money, he did everything to demonstrate that he was a good, dependable employee.
His mentors soon realised that Jamal had the potential to do much more, and have helped him enrol for a university course at Holloway Uni which he has just started. Jamal has a bright future ahead of him having turned his life around, thanks to the support of Palace for Life.
Tom explained to the group at our February Rider Night how many barriers there are to a university application for young people like Jamal (the UCAS form, the expenses, the confidence…) so it’s a huge achievement for Jamal to have got this far. It’s very obvious that he and Tom are both, rightly, very proud of what he’s achieved.
Jamal (who’d never been into sport because even having a hobby seemed beyond reach) and Tom have signed up to a cycling event in April as part of their preparation. We’ve given them both Le Loop kit to wear and they’re both super excited about this adventure they’ve taken on, which will culminate with their ride with us in France this summer.
For those of you riding Stage 14, you’ll have the chance to listen to and chat with Tom and Jamal on tour. We hope that you’ll also feel an immense sense of pride that your cycling efforts are helping to fund this kind of work that makes a real and tangible difference to young lives.
Abdel - Football Beyond Borders
Abdel’s journey with Football Beyond Borders (FBB) began 7 years ago when he was in Year 8. Over the four years he was involved with FBB, it played a significant role in shaping the path he’s on today. When he first joined FBB, he struggled with a short temper and was often labelled a “ticking time bomb” in class, as he would get frustrated quickly. He told us that this wasn’t because he’d had a rough childhood; he was just a kid who had a hard time controlling his anger.
Then FBB came into his life, and it was a different experience. Getting frustrated there felt completely different from how he felt in front of teachers. “It was as if they dealt with anger management issues daily and knew exactly how to help, whereas teachers often didn’t know how to control me while managing the other 29 students in the class”. But over the first year with FBB, including the anger management meetings with a teacher at school, he felt treated just like everyone else. That was a huge turning point for him because he had always felt like he was treated differently. FBB, however, never made him feel out of place.
One of the biggest takeaways from FBB was the sense of community. Over the 4 years he spent with them, he found a group of people he could truly call family. They’ve been consistently welcoming, and this sense of belonging has remained the same for the last 7 years. FBB also helped him to gain control over his anger, which allowed him to focus in class and eventually leave high school with grades of 9s, 8s, and 7s.
One of his proudest achievements during his time at FBB was finishing second in the Copa Tournament with his school. It was a huge accomplishment, especially because in our team of eight, only three of us were truly committed to winning. “Although we didn’t come first in our league bracket, we fought with passion and dedication, which took us all the way to the final. The experience was even better because it was a two-day residential trip, making it even more memorable as a kid”.
Most of the young charity visitors who join us in France have never left the UK before. Coming on tour is a chance for them to experience a new culture and challenge themselves to ride further than they’ve ever ridden before, as well as talk to our riders (which can be wildly intimidating no matter how warm and friendly a reception we all try to give them).
If you’re riding stage 17, we hope you’ll do everything possible to help welcome and encourage Abdel while he’s with us on tour. We have to opportunity to share this extraordinary Tour de France adventure with him and we know how impactful that can be.
The benefits of our Charity Visitors are twofold
- A young person gets the opportunity of a lifetime, to challenge themselves and talk to the riders who are supporting them.
- Our riders get to meet one of the young people their efforts are supporting and ask them, face to face, about their life and the work of their charity. They also have a unique opportunity to support them in their ride during the day, sharing the camaraderie of the peloton.
“My Le Loop trip was a huge success and I felt a boost of confidence from the trip. Everyone I met was warm, friendly and supportive. I’ve definitely made everlasting memories and experiences from this trip. I was proud of myself for giving road cycling a go, especially without clip on shoes and for me to ride 118km in that heat, and the hilly course. The views were stunning. Now onto my Gold DofE expedition in Brecon next week!”
“… the talk and meeting Daley from Star Scheme…was moving, memorable and made a huge impact on me. To hear from a project that the WWMT supports put everything in perspective. It made the charity and fundraising feel personal. Well done for incorporating such an important aspect to the tour and I hope they get to know what an impact they made”.