Heart of England Boxing Club makes final for house boulder’s £200,000 prize

Leicestershire residents are being urged to get behind a regional youth sports group to help them win £200,000 in a national competition launched by a leading housebuilder.

Persimmon Homes launched its Healthy Communities scheme last May, with the aim of giving £615,000 to support amateur youth sport in England, Scotland and Wales.

Thirty finalists are now competing for the top prize with the winner to be announced at a gala dinner at York Racecourse on Thursday, March 22. One individual or group will scoop £200,000, while two runners-up will win £50,000 each. Each of the 27 finalists will win £5,000 each.

Heart of England Community Boxing Club has been chosen to represent Persimmon Homes North Midlands in the final and it is now up to the public to decide on the winner with online voting under way for six weeks until March 16.

People can vote for their favourite sporting group by visiting https://www.persimmonhomes.com/healthy-communities

Nick Griffin, head coach at Heart of England Community Boxing Club, said: “We’re thrilled to hear that we’ve made it through the final stages. “This has come at a great time as the club is now looking for a new home. We keep around 50 young people off the streets every week of the year and are a ‘not for profit’ organisation.

“We are urging people to back us in this competition and take the time to vote as such a large amount of money would be a real game changer for our group.” Nadine O’Dowd, managing director of Persimmon Homes North Midlands, said: “We have been overwhelmed by the interest in the Healthy Communities scheme, and the incredible talent, expertise and dedication shown by all the organisations that entered.

“The aim of the scheme is to help create a sporting legacy, and we believe Heart of England Community Boxing Club could do this if they win the £200,000. We would urge local people to get behind this group by adding their vote online, as the work they do is tremendous.” As part of the scheme thousands of groups and individuals applied for monthly donations of £750 to pay for kit and equipment. As part of their entry they had to say what they would spend the £200,000 on if they were lucky enough to win the top prize. Persimmon Homes North Midlands gave away £6,000 locally as part of this and nationally, Persimmon’s 30 businesses donated £180,000.