Charity partners
The Dylan Rich Legacy Fund is supporting charities that align with the objectives for which the fund has been set up. Our current partners are:
Our first charity partner is Belong, a Nottingham based organisation that supports migrants from all backgrounds. Its main aim is to empower refugees, asylum seekers and migrants to achieve their full potential and to be economically active and socially included. With support from our fund, Belong started regular football training sessions in February 2022, giving young people the chance to play and develop. Sessions have continued for 2 years, with numbers of boys and girls steadily growing. Around 100 young people have now been able to access the sessions and the fund has also supported the development of coaches.
Nashulai Maasai Conservancy is an award winning organisation based in Kenya that has a mission to conserve wildlife, reverse poverty and preserve culture. “Nashulai is the first ever community-owned and directed wildlife conservancy. It is a unique achievement that promises to inspire a positive change in the entire East Africa region.” (John Mbaria — Kenyan Author & Conservation Journalist). With support from the Dylan Legacy Fund, two additional rangers have been taken on to support the work of the conservancy and tree planting, to protect the Sekenani river from further erosion, has also taken place. To reach out to and mentor young people in the area, the fund also supported a football tournament in Dylan’s memory.
The mission of AJ Sports Academy is to provide, co-ordinate, champion and develop innovative sport services and solutions to support young people and communities by being a positive alternative to the high risk and negative lifestyles that currently involve too many. Our fund has been working with AJ Sports since autumn 2023, funding a weekly free session of football and other sports targeted at young people who would otherwise be unlikely to participate.
Dylan had a passion for wildlife and the monkey was his favourite animal. We were therefore delighted in 2024 to partner with Ndera Community Conservancy in Kenya. This conservancy is home to two critically endangered species: the Tana River Red Colobus and Tana Mangabey monkeys, the populations of which are estimated at less than 2,000. The fund will support the protection work of the conservancy, with the project overseen by the renowned charity Tusk.
In 2019 Dylan visited Narok town in Kenya, where the Fountain of Life had been set up to support and reintegrate children at risk of a life on the streets. He was moved by what he saw and stayed in touch with the project until he died. Having left some football kit with the project in 2019, the Fountain of Life have used the game to build bridges with and mentor young people. Dylan’s fund is now supporting an expansion of this work, aiming to reach even more young people and use football to promote reintegration, social skills and personal development.
