Olympic gold medallist Lizzy visits Portsmouth trust

YOUNG people had the chance to meet Olympic gold medallist Lizzy Yarnold ahead of Sport Relief this weekend.
Lizzy Yarnold joins an arts and crafts session with Jade Vick, 25Lizzy Yarnold joins an arts and crafts session with Jade Vick, 25
Lizzy Yarnold joins an arts and crafts session with Jade Vick, 25

The sporting star, who won her medal in skeleton, visited The Bivol Trust in Southsea and spent the afternoon making crafts with the disabled young people who use the service.

The trust is one of many groups in the area who will benefit from this year’s Sport Relief.

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Lizzy, who lives in the Portsmouth area, said it was a great opportunity to see what the trust does and how it will benefit from money raised by the national campaign.

‘Spending the afternoon at The Bivol Trust has been a fantastic experience,’ she said.

‘Meeting some of the young people, chatting to them about the issues they have faced in the past and finding out how The Bivol Trust has helped them has been really interesting.

‘It was an amazing afternoon.’

The Bivol Trust, which has a vintage shop in Elm Grove, uses the site in the evening for sessions of arts and crafts and dressmaking.

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For Lizzy, who moved to the area recently, it was great to see how the Sport Relief money would benefit a charity in Portsmouth.

She added: ‘I am a big supporter of Sport Relief and it has been great to see first-hand how the money will help organisations like The Bivol Trust.

‘I think it is important to see that not all the money goes away and that it does go back into the community.’

The Bivol Trust project runs groups for disabled people between the ages of 11 and 35 around Portsmouth, Fareham and Gosport.

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The groups offer social opportunities, which can be focused on music or graphic design, as well as work experience.

Dan Davies, project worker at The Bivol Trust, said: ‘Having projects such as The Bivol Trust in the area is absolutely essential.

‘We work with a wide range of young people in the area, who all live with various disabilities.

‘We aim to provide a safe place for young people to come, enjoy themselves and build up their confidence, self-esteem and social skills.

‘The grant that we receive is vital – without it we wouldn’t be able to provide these vital services.’