THE INSPIRATIONAL story behind a not-for-profit organisation which uses sport to improve mental health in young people in Coventry and Warwickshire will have top billing at a major conference in the region this weekend.
Kieran Joseph, who established Guardian Ballers in 2021, will give the keynote address at the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce Annual Business & Economic Conference.
Kieran was asked to deliver the speech after Guardian Ballers – which has helped thousands of young people through wellbeing and basketball sessions – picked up The Not-For-Profit Champion Award at this year’s inaugural Coventry & Warwickshire Business and Community Awards.
He will describe how his life took a pivotal turn in 2019 when he decided to resign as a teacher in Coventry after volunteering in Rwanda and working with refugee children in Seattle in the previous year.
He said: “I came back and everything looked different. I resigned from my job knowing I wanted to do something different.
“The idea came to me in a dream around using sport to support young people by giving them a safe place to talk and feel empowered.”
Coventry-based Guardian Ballers was born as a social enterprise combining sport and mental health support for young people.
The organisation was launched with Coventry, Warwickshire and Worcestershire Mind in 2021, and now reaches 2,000 young people each year.
“Mental health services can often feel too clinical,” Kieran said. “By using sport, we can unlock people because it’s such an amazing way of connecting. We’ll go into schools with basketball and wellbeing resources, and we’ll reach young people in a way that feels natural and empowering.”
His keynote address will also touch upon the time he served as chaplain at Coventry City FC, where he supported players and staff.
He added: “I hope to mobilise hearts and minds at the conference. I want to inspire people not just on the day but to act afterwards – whether that is by volunteering their time or providing funding. We can all play a part in making a positive social impact.”
The event, which takes place at the IXL Events Centre in Southam on Friday (November 14), will bring together business and civic leaders from across the region will feature a series of speakers and panel sessions.
It will cover everything from driving growth in the regional economy through to a conversation with local MPs on the future of Coventry and Warwickshire.
Corin Crane, chief executive of Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, said: “We are really pleased to have Kieran as our keynote speaker at the conference and were incredibly happy to see Guardian Ballers crowned as The Not-for-Profit Champion at our awards earlier this year.
“As a Chamber of Commerce, we’re here to champion every aspect of our amazing region and as such we wanted to give him this platform to tell his story.
“He’s such an inspiring, passionate and entrepreneurial individual and has already achieved so much here in our region.
“It promises to be another great conference with a wide range of speakers and topics at a time when we need to drive growth in our economy.”
Visit https://tinyurl.com/53emf776 for more information or to book a place.
