Posts in category: Testimonals

I have been very fortunate to come to know Michael Wallace and Ashley Levien from Kickoff@3 over the last several years. I am never less than astonished by their energy and commitment to the beautiful kickoff@3 project which seeks to empower communities from across the country uniting via the power of sport, art, music and poetry. They show unswerving dedication to this vital mission and it has been a pleasure to see this project develop from an initial concept of like minded visionaries into an Award winning juggernaut, garnering amazing support from notable dignitaries and Ambassadors from the world of sport and beyond.

I can only see this going from strength to strength and I look forward to hearing about this progression on Radio Verulam  in the coming years, as the enthusiasm and humility with which they elaborate on the awesome community work is genuinely heart warming and encouraging for us all.

In closing I can think of no better way to summarise than embracing their very own hashtag tagline….for Verulam Sport on behalf of all at Radio Verulam when it comes to all that Kickoff@3 are, represent and will continue to evolve into;

#webelieve

Tony Rice

I first met Michael and Ashley after refereeing at a Kickoff event in 2018 in St Albans, Hertfordshire my home force.The initiative is like many being delivered across country by many amazing people,  but kickoff@3 is different. It collaborates through sport, music and  education with the simple goal of reaching out to our youth with life changing support of partner organisations. It was this vision and  desire to make a difference which grabbed me straight away.We meet many people in our lives, and we are a product of these shared experiences. Kickoff@3 is not just about football, but giving support to mental health charities, career advice and opportunities to young people and bringing together celebrities, professional athletes and local businesses, giving KickOff@3 the prospect of reaching out across the UK for many years to come. This game changing initiative has given me the opportunity to help in a very small way. I will be eternally blessed and grateful for the gift of sharing what Kickoff@3 has given to me.

Andy KowalskiReferee Herts Police

I first heard of Kickoff@3 during the National Black Police Association Annual Conference in 2017. It sounded like a fantastic way of engaging with young people from different backgrounds.I spoke to a number of community groups in Belfast and held our first tournament in May 2018. It was a huge success and managed to bring people from diverse backgrounds together using football as a common bond.Michael and Ashley supported me in delivering the tournament and their presence during the day was influential in getting young people to speak to each other and the attending police officers.We have grown the programme each year and have now developed partnerships with the Irish FA, Rio Ferdinand Foundation and a number of community groups. We are now planning a community cohesion programme and have Kickoff@3 to thank for starting it all off.Inspector Andy George PSNI

In truth football is not my sport of choice, that will always be Cricket. That said, sport brings people together and in 2018 I brought KickOff@3 to Durham with the assistance of Durham University who saw the value in bringing young people together, engage with the police to break down barriers and create opportunities for themselves. This opportunity has been instrumental in doing just this and also provided external opportunities to some Durham University students who helped organise the event.

Ultimately sport brings people from different communities together and football is no different. In our first year one of the young participants provided a mouth swab for the ACLT Charity and he was a potential positive bone marrow match, which could result in him saving someone’s life. In 2019 I brought 3 forces together namely Durham, Northumbria and North Yorkshire in holding a regional tournament. Again the overall winning team attended the National Finals in London and gained so much life experience. One of their teachers said to me that “the youngsters from our school need this kind of exposure and to be alongside other communities”.

For me it’s a privilege to be involved in Kick Off @3. Its providing many young people opportunities in life which ordinarily they may have thought its not available to them. Young people have also had the opportunity to engage with the police and see beyond the uniform.

Shaz Sadiq

Through a friend, Cherise Weaver from Shaping Futures, I was asked to engage and help promote young peoples futures at the Halton football tournament.

I met Michael Wallace co founder of KickOff@3 and my journey started here, this led to a nationwide introduction to a lot of forces and invites to Bedfordshire and the Bromley final. I met Ashley Levien the other founder of this dynamic duo and the rest of this unstoppable inspiring team. 

Kickoff@3 is providing fantastic support to charities, integrating police with communities, legends and celebrities with everyday people, as well as giving youngsters opportunities which can only lead to them becoming future role models. They’re also doing their upmost to prevent youngsters from entering into a life of crime and regret which I wholeheartedly support due to the nature of work I’ve been involved in for the last 31 years. 

A tour with Kickoff@3 would be a perfect opportunity to cover each event but more importantly to work with each forces engagement teams too.

I engaged and entertained everyone at these amazing tournaments passing on my skills and witnessing youngsters and police expressing themselves together. Thank you all for your invites and fantastic hospitality.

#WEBELEIVE 

SILKY SKILLS STEERING YOUNG PEOPLE IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION!

Mr Silky Skills

Richard Braithwaites

Professional Football Freestyler

We have had the privilege of teaming up with Kickoff@3 on a couple of occasions and cannot say enough about how amazing these guys are.Although we work in different areas of support we are all aiming for the same result and that is to help where we can, to make life easier, more fulfilling and rewarding for our children and youth of today.These guys deserve a medal in the commitment and energy they put into everything they do..# We believe!!!

Kids in Crisis CEO Amanda Fitchie