Run With It charity announces new Chair

A charity which provides educational support for young people across East Yorkshire is delighted to announce the appointment of Shaun Watts as its new Chair.

Shaun, who is Chairman of Hull-based Chameleon Business Interiors, succeeds Wykeland Group’s Dominic Gibbons who has been an integral part of the Run With It charity for over ten years. 

Run With It, based at the MKM stadium in Hull, focuses on raising the levels of literacy and numeracy in the region. Indeed, since it was established over twenty years ago, it has helped over two thousand young people by getting them out of the traditional classroom for real-life experiences which support their studies.

Shaun said:

“I feel privileged to assume the role of Chair for this exceptional charity. Witnessing the profound impact that Run With It has on the lives of young children is truly remarkable and I am convinced that the organisation has the potential to make an even greater difference by providing invaluable support to thousands more children in the future.”

Working with schools and education providers, including special needs and adult learners, all programmes are designed to support the delivery of the national curriculum.

Lisa Dawson, who set up the charity, says she is looking forward to working alongside Shaun.

“We are so pleased that Shaun has accepted the position as our new Chair. It will be great to have a fresh set of eyes at board level as we look ahead to our future growth.   

"Not all children respond to the classroom environment so, with our programmes, they often don’t even realize they are learning and improving all the time. We have had great success over the years. All of a sudden they understand the purpose of what they are being taught at school because they are seeing it in a real-life, practical context. In addition, we help with self-esteem, mental wellbeing and key workplace skills that they are going to need both now and in the future.

“We’d also like to say a big thank you to Dominic Gibbons for all the help, support and commitment he has given us, getting us set up as a charity and establishing our Board of Trustees.”

Meanwhile, Wykeland remains on the board with Finance Director Ian Franks becoming a registered trustee.

The charity has three separate locations which act as backdrops for their learning programmes: Hull’s MKM stadium, the Flemingate shopping centre in Beverley and Bridlington Town Football Club.

Over twenty local businesses already support the charity across the three sites, but the charity is looking for more to come on board in order to help even more young people across the region.

For more information about Run With It, please visit https://www.runwithithull.co.uk/