1st Central has today announced it is renewing its support for charity partner Foundation 92 – the official charity of Salford City Football Club – which was founded by Manchester United ‘Class of ’92’ members; Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Gary and Phil Neville and Nicky Butt. The renewal means the insurance company, which has been the principal partner for the charity since its inception in 2018, will commit to continuing its support for a further three years.

The partnership has already been a huge success, with support from 1st Central helping the charity to grow significantly since its inception 6 years ago – upscaling from 1 employee delivering 3 programmes in 2018, to 52 employees in 2023 helping to deliver an impressive 60 programmes across the Greater Manchester region. 

Discussing the renewal, Jo McGowan, Chief People Officer at 1st Central Insurance, said: “We are proud to announce the renewal of our long running sponsorship of Foundation 92. At 1st Central, one of our fundamental objectives is to have a positive impact in the local communities where we are based like Salford Quays, and Foundation 92 does amazing work to address serious societal issues such as youth violence, veteran integration and education and mentoring in the local community.

“The team at 1st Central love taking part in Foundation 92 initiatives, having played in charity football matches, volunteered at community events and taken part in fitness sessions as part of 1st Central’s focus on workplace wellbeing.

“We were also pleased to celebrate the renewal last week with Foundation 92 at 1st Central’s YOUfest – a week-long celebration with 13 events for our colleagues to get involved with – focusing on different aspects of their wellbeing. Social Wellbeing is just one of our areas of focus so it’s great to be able to get Foundation 92 down to meet with our colleagues and highlight how our support is having an impact in the communities that we work within.”

Ryan Giggs, Co-Founder of Foundation 92 said: “We are delighted that 1st Central has renewed its partnership with Foundation 92. 1st Central have supported the Foundation for six years and we’ve built a strong relationship. They’ve helped Foundation 92 make a real impact with people across Salford and Greater Manchester.

“We are looking forward to continuing to work alongside them as a Principal Partner as we embark on our next stage.”

Following the announcement of further financial support from 1st Central, the charity will now put its three-year growth plan into action focusing its resources in areas such as sport, youth work, inclusion and adult education – with one of the charity’s longer term goals being the development of a Foundation 92 central hub which would aim to provide further sporting pitches, fitness centres and equipment as well as an education centre and community café.

Tom Hutton at Foundation 92 said: “I am delighted Foundation 92 is renewing its partnership with 1st Central for a further three years. 1st Central’s incredible support enables the Foundation to impact the lives of people within the communities that we serve. We’re looking forward to continuing to help people to thrive alongside 1st Central for years to come.”