Why we exist
To help young people reach their potential.
Where we’re going
We are committed to helping 2 million young people worldwide by 2020.
What we believe and do
We believe that every child is created for a purpose and that an active life is essential for a child’s development and well-being. The approach we take towards people demonstrates a bias for inclusion regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, gender, social or economic circumstances.
Specifically we:
- Provide sports, activity and life-skills programmes for children during non-school time
- Provide young people with training, work experience and employment
- Help partner organisations and community leaders to deliver life-changing experiences for children
- Help families by inspiring their children to reach their potential
How we work
We are about people. We aim to serve people that trust us with their children, provide children with an inspirational experience, provide high quality, enjoyable and progressive employment opportunities for staff and volunteers and enjoy mutually beneficial agreements with suppliers. We get one go at life on earth, so we aim to make a difference and make the journey as enjoyable as possible.
Specifically we:
- Consider that serving children and families is a privilege
- Treat others as we expect to be treated
- Are open and honest
- Try not to be constrained by tradition
- Want to be remarkable
How we got here
The charity was formed in 1991, is founded on Christian principles and initially operated out of the King’s Centre Church in Sheffield, UK. We started by managing sports camps in three cities, Sheffield, Bradford and Leeds, and contributed our income to support projects such as a soup wagon programme for young homeless people in Sheffield (which still exists today).
Subsequently a national network of venues was developed to allow increasing numbers of children to experience structured sports and activity programmes during the school holidays. We are a charity that generates its own income and both the programmes we run, and our work with external organisations, positively contributes to our charitable objectives.
Recent developments
| 2000 | The charity was awarded the Investors in People standard. |
| 2001 | The charity initiated work across Europe with Eurocamp, this was the first consultancy agreement that was processed through the charities trading company. |
| 2002 | Further consultancy contracts were secured, most noticeably with Cunard Line for their family services on board QE2 and QM2 ships. Sent a team of volunteers to Botswana to run outreach programmes for children from disadvantaged communities. |
| 2005 | Full-time outreach workers for Botswana and Uganda were appointed to develop sports ministry programmes for children and leaders. |
| 2006 | King's Camps launched in Botswana as an income generating activity to provide a child-care service to families, to help fund our work amongst poorer communities and provide local people with paid and voluntary employment opportunities. |
| 2007 | The charity agreed a partnership with the England Cricket captain, Michael Vaughan, to establish cricket programmes in the UK that enabled increasing numbers of children to experience cricket. Initiated a King's Camps provision for military families involved with conflict, work which has received praise from the highest ranking military personnel. |
| 2008 | King's Camps was launched in South Africa and in 2009 we operated camps in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town. Our work in Botswana and Uganda became established as more independent, self-governed charitable enterprises with a momentum towards local sustainability. |
| 2009 | Specialist soccer programme International Soccer Schools launched. |
| 2010 | Specialist gymnastics and learn to swim programmes launched. Our Supporting Families Programme provides 1,000 subsidised places at our UK camps for children from a range of difficult or disadvantaged family circumstances. |
| 2011 | To date we’ve worked globally with at least 1/4 million children and young people, provided positive experiences for around 30,000 disadvantaged children and provided employment experience for around 10,000 young people. |
Organisation Functions
- Commercial - including key accounts and trading
- Design & Development - including communications, marketing, systems and IT
- Finance & Administration - including finance, accounting and information
- International - including overseas outreach and income generating programs and partnerships
- Membership - including membership contact for all King's Camps services
- Operations - including UK and international activity camp delivery, programme staff, policies, practise and procurement
- Recruitment - including all recruitment services via King’s Recruit
Executive Team
Richard Holmes, Chief Executive Officer
Richard has been involved with the charity since 1991; leading the executive management team and providing leadership, direction and vision, facilitating short and long-term strategic planning.
Rebecca Padgett, Commercial Manager
Rebecca joined the King’s Foundation team in 2004; she is responsible for managing key relationships with external organisations and for increasing revenue for the charities trading company, King’s Professional Services Ltd.
Peter Thompson, Head of Online Business
After undertaking work for the charity in a consultancy capacity, Pete joined the staff team in 2004; he provides the creative impetus to drive forward products and services, directs our marketing and communications strategy, and is responsible for our online business.
Christine Buxton, Head of Finance
Christine joined the executive team in Jan 2011 after serving on the board of trustees since 2009. She is a Chartered Accountant with twenty years experience in finance and general senior management roles in the telecoms and manufacturing industries.
Board of Directors
David Taylor (Chair)
David joined the board of trustees in 2000 and became chairman in 2005. Professionally he holds the position of Senior Research Fellow at Cardiff Business School and has experience in business research, consultancy and lecturing. He has lived in Sheffield for over 30 years and is a member of Christ Church Fulwood. David says ‘It has been a great privilege to be involved with the King’s Foundation over the last decade. King's provides a valuable and enjoyable service for children in the UK and Europe through our King's Camps, military camps and other activities. And I am particularly proud of the work we do in Africa, where we bring top-quality sports activities, fun and encouragement to some of the most disadvantage children and at the same time sensitively share something of our Christian faith.
Barry Ninnes
Barry joined the board of directors in 2004. A Manufacturing Manager involved in the manufacture of orthopaedic implants in Sheffield. A committed Christian and former Rugby Union international who believes in sport as a means of developing people in order to reach their full potential, particularly those who struggle academically.
Geoff Thompson OBE
Geoff joined the board in 2004 when he was the Chairman of the Football Association. Geoff is now a Vice President of both FIFA and UEFA with significant responsibilities and influence on world football. Home is Chesterfield, Derbyshire and Geoff always manages to keep involved with the development of King’s despite his demanding international schedule.
Employment
The King’s Foundation is an Equal Opportunity Employer and offers full and part-time, permanent and temporary paid and voluntary positions with varying levels of responsibility for the development and support of our mission. King’s Recruit is the recruitment brand of the charity, for details of employment opportunities go to King’s Recruit.
Financial & Legal Information
Registered charity number: 1105460
Company number: 5099069
As a UK registered charity, the charity’s annual returns are available to view on the Charity Commission register.
The charity's registered address is:
Osborne House, 47 Snaithing Lane, SHEFFIELD, S10 3LF
The charity's auditors are:
Landin Wilcock & Co, 68 Queen Street, SHEFFIELD, S1 1WR
The charity's bankers are:
Lloyds TSB Ltd, 14 Church Street, SHEFFIELD, S1 1HP
The charity's lawyers are:
HLW Commercial Lawyers, Commercial House, Commercial Street, Sheffield, S1 2AT
The King's Foundation's trading company is:
The King's Foundation Professional Services Ltd. Company No. 03145498
Contact Us
By Post
The King's Foundation, Osborne House, 47 Snaithing Lane, SHEFFIELD, S10 3LF
By Phone
+44 (114) 2632150
By Email
Click to send an email about our children’s holiday camps.
Click to send an email about opportunities to work in the UK.
Click to send an email about our international work.
Click to send an email about finance, administration or systems.