2022 SUPPORTED PARTNERS & PROGRAMMES

Laureus Sport for Good

The Gumball 3000 Foundation has been a long-term supporter and partner of Laureus and have consistently been amongst their biggest donors, working closely with them on an array of incredible sports programmes both domestically and worldwide. 

Laureus is a global organisation that celebrates sporting excellence and uses the power of sport to transform the lives of children and young people. There are three distinct elements to the Laureus family and all three work together to help Laureus Sport for Good achieve its charitable aims.

(1) Laureus Sport for Good is the separate charitable arm of the Laureus family. Over the last 20 years, Laureus Sport for Good has raised more than $150m for the Sport for Development sector and, together with its partners, has reached and helped change the lives of almost 6m children and young people. Laureus currently supports more than 275 programmes in over 50 countries. 

(2) The Laureus World Sports Awards is an annual award ceremony honouring individuals and teams from the world of sports along with sporting achievements throughout the year.

(3) The Laureus World Sports Academy is a unique association of more than 60 of the greatest living sporting legends from sports as diverse as football, tennis, athletics, skateboarding and motor racing. All members of the Academy share a belief in the power of sport to break down barriers, bring people together and improve the lives of young people around the world. The Academy is also the ultimate sports jury, voting each year to decide the winners of the Laureus World Sports Awards.

This year, the Gumball 3000 Foundation has funded and supported some fantastic youth-centred sports initiatives, with a particular focus on London-based football programmes that use football as a tool to engage underprivileged youth in fun, recreational activities whilst also providing essential educational infrastructure to enable a successful transition into adulthood.

Furthermore, both Laureus and the Gumball 3000 Foundation facilitated Jordan Melville’s astonishing donation to the Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment Foundation upon which each party is working together to identify worthy sports initiatives within the North America region to assign these funds to. 

Create Community Campaign // Latimer Community Art Therapy Centre

On the 14th June 2017, a high-rise fire broke out in the 24-storey Grenfell Tower block of flats in North Kensington, West London. Just before 01:00 on June 14th, fire broke out in the kitchen of a fourth floor flat and within minutes, the fire had raced up the exterior of the building and spread to all four sides. By 03:00, most of the upper floors were alight. The fire was one of the UK's worst modern disasters. Seventy-two people died.

In September 2022, five years on from the tragedy, the Gumball 3000 Foundation joined forces with a number of emerging local artists and creative minds to launch the inaugural Create Community campaign with the aim of leveraging the power of the arts to raise all important awareness of the Grenfell story and improve the lives of those affected by the events in 2017. 

As part of the campaign, the Gumball 3000 Foundation identified Latimer Community Art Therapy centre (LCAT), a local organisation that provides Art Psychotherapy for the local youth and all those affected by the tragic fire in 2017, as the worthy beneficiary of the funds the Foundation donated to this project. The project involved working closely with the artists and the young children at LCAT to produce artwork that was later displayed at a public exhibition in Soho before each piece was auctioned off at our wonderful celebratory night at The Broadcaster in West London. In addition to the funds raised throughout the project, the Gumball 3000 Foundation has pledged to donate £30,000 to LCAT over the next 2 years to support their valuable work in the community and is already looking ahead to the next Create Community campaign.

Fair Shot Cafe

Fair Shot Cafe is a charity addressing the UK’s current 94% unemployment levels for young people with learning disabilities. Fair Shot Cafe is providing year-long training programmes, to grow the next generation of skilled baristas and expert cafe assistants. After the programme, they find their graduates paid employment with forward-thinking employers and keep supporting all parties involved for the following 6 months.

The Gumball 3000 Foundation has provided a proportion of the required funding to help secure Fair Shot’s new cafe premises in Covent Garden and have also committed to extend our partnership providing additional funding in 2023. During the upcoming European rally, a Fair Shot Cafe lunch stop has been organised to help increase awareness of their programme and to show our alumni the value of Fair Shot’s work.

Project Wreckless 

One of our most successful auction lots at the Live Auction in Nashville was the Project Wreckless 1966 Mustang Fastback car build project. The winning bidders Darren Donnelly and Joe Kaminkow are now coordinating with the Project Wreckless garage to manage their respective car builds. As owners of the cars, Darren & Joe have the privilege of selecting specific parts for the build and getting to choose their paint jobs and every other little detail involved in the process. Upon completion of the project, both owners will each have their own fully restored Ford Mustang 1966 Fastback. The 2023 start grid in Edinburgh will see the unveiling of at least one of the cars. Keep an eye on our Foundation Instagram for updates on their progress.

Most importantly, this amazing project has given the Project Wreckless youth the opportunity to utilise and develop their mechanical skills on a fun, challenging project which will ultimately enhance their skill set for future employment opportunities.

​​Street League

On Sunday 2nd of October, our Foundation Manager, Seb Weston, ran the Virtual London Marathon for our London-based charity partner, Street League. Seb and the Gumball 3000 Foundation raised over £10,000 for Street League. Street League is an organisation that uses football, fitness and dance to engage 16 to 24-year-olds who are not in employment, education and training. With 622,000 young people out of work, youth unemployment is one of the biggest costs to the UK taxpayer and society. Street League aims to put young people through the programme’s Academy – a structured programme offering sport, education and employability workshops. Street League hosts 14 academies across the UK. The Gumball 3000 team have enjoyed their visits to the Street League academies and appreciate the opportunity to get involved with the youth’s activities! 

Football Beyond Borders

Football Beyond Borders works with young people from disadvantaged backgrounds in London who are disengaged at school, helping them finish school with the skills and grades to make a successful transition into adulthood. FBB achieves this by providing long-term, intensive support, built around relationships and young people’s passions, in the classroom and beyond and have since onboarded over 2,000 students across numerous schools all over the UK.

Having already made an initial donation of £20,000 to FBB, the Gumball 3000 Foundation is working with FBB to find ways in which to integrate Gumball-related schemes into their student programme. We are also working on ways to offer performance-based incentives for FBB students including the opportunity to play for the Gumball All-Stars in our annual charity football matches involving a number of celebrities and ex-professional football players.

Urbanball

Gumball 3000 recently collaborated with Urbanball, a street football freestyle brand, at Burj Park in Dubai to host their Urbanball Fightball GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) Qualifier Finals. The bespoke pitch was designed and built especially for our event. In line with our ethos and aim to leave a lasting social impact on the regions Gumball visits, and both parties have agreed that this pitch will be donated to a nominated (TBC) low-income community for the youth to enjoy!

The Skatepark Project (formerly Tony Hawk Foundation)

The Gumball 3000 Foundation has proudly supported The Skatepark Project (TSP) in recent years, donating as much as $100,000 from previous rallies and this year the Gumball 3000 Foundation donated a further $50,000 to TSP to support a selection of their current projects outlined below. 

TSP is partnering with the Blue Lab Preservation Society’s ReefLine initiative and Es Devlin to design and create a “skateable” artificial reef and public skatepark. The reef’s design will inspire and complement the design of the eco-friendly public skatepark in Miami Beach. Founder and Artistic Director of the ReefLine Ximena Caminos sums up the goals and inevitable outcomes of the initiative best - “The ReefLine is a singular investment in civic infrastructure, public art and environmental protection that will pay dividends over the coming decades and attract ecologically-minded tourists and art lovers.”

TSP is also working with The Underline to transform the land below Miami’s Metrorail into a 10 mile linear park, urban trail, and public art destination. As part of the project, TSP is collaborating with The Underline to develop plans for an integrated skatepark. TSP will be providing critical guidance surrounding community engagement and skatepark design and construction. This skatepark would serve Miami residents and would be accessible to the greater Miami metro area by way of the Metrorail. 

The Skatepark Project was set up to create high quality, public skateparks in low-income communities around the world. Skateparks not only encourage youths to be active and healthy but are spaces where they meet other creative, like-minded individuals, from communities and together build self-confidence and awareness of the sometimes misunderstood sport. 

TSP very kindly donated the Tony Hawk auction lot for our Nashville Live Charity Auction which was won by Deadmau5 for $110,000.

Cuba Skate

Cuba Skate’s focus is on the evolution of skateboarding in Cuba, building local communities and international connections, and cultivating youth through sport. Skateboarding brings together communities and develops individuals and it is a unique way to engage youth and bring people together at the intersection of sport, culture, and transportation. Through their programs, Cuba Skate develops a new generation of leaders that are better equipped to tackle challenges in their own lives and connect their local and global communities. 

Cuba Skate have collaborated with universities, artists, and brands to help support Cuba Skate clinics, exhibits and other programs around the world and have previously released a limited edition sneaker with renowned skate brand DC Shoes. 

Co-Founder and Executive Director Miles Jackson joined us for the US Rally and put in a masterclass performance for the Gumball All-Stars in our charity football match at Inter Miami!

The Gumball 3000 Foundation has donated $15,000 to see the renovation of an existing Cuba Skate park in Cuba. 

‘I Love You, Man’ by Caffeine & Machine

October’s guest was our very own Maximillion Cooper. Max spoke about growing up in the countryside, his sporting prowess, his introduction to the world of modelling and fashion, and how they each lead to the creation of Gumball. Ticket proceeds were donated to the Gumball 3000 Foundation and distributed to our various charity partners. 

Lamborghini Movember Campaign, Maximillion Cooper: Brave But Not Unbreakable

North Kensington Secret Santa

Each year, our partners at North Kensington Secret Santa put on a 24 hour Instagram Livestream featuring different initiates to raise money for youth within the area. This year saw Gil Hogarth & Hilly Husnain carry out challenges in return for donations. Last year, Chelsea FC fan Gil received an £8,000 donation from London artist & Spurs fan AJ Tracey to have the Tottenham Hotspur logo tattooed on his left bum cheek. So, we knew anything was possible at the right price. Concerned that his right bum cheek was looking a little bare, we decided to donate £5,000 for Gil to have the Gumball 3000 logo tattooed in that special place. Fair play to Gil, he fought through the pain and came out the other side with a new addition to his backside.

This year, they raised an incredible £15,871 on the livestream for their North Ken Secret Santa campaign. The money raised goes to supporting the most vulnerable families in North Kensington, providing Christmas presents, summer trips, a trip to Italy for a group of young people who have never had the opportunity to go away, emergency clothing, winter coats and intensive and focussed mentoring and so on. In the new year, Gumball 3000 staff will be joining their secret santa visit trip to help handout presents and gift Gumball merchandise and clothing to the kids within the local area. 

Next year, we would like to invite our Gumballers to take part in their livestream fundraiser and to contribute with both cash and practical donations. We will keep you informed when the time comes around.