London-based sustainable refurbishment company, Better Green Living, has unveiled a new custom-designed kit for Kings X Courage, a basketball team for young people affected by homelessness at New Horizon Youth Centre.
Better Green Living launched a collaboration with New Horizon Youth Centre earlier this year to support its vital work as the only centre in London focused solely on youth homelessness.
Working together, Better Green Living partnered with the basketball players, made up of young people aged 16-24, to design a new kit and logo inspired by the ethos and mission of the Kings X Courage team.
With the final design being chosen by New Horizon Youth Centre, Better Green Living unveiled the two new kits to the team at a special training session led by pro-basketball players Jake Eynon and Henry Wilkins, and Darnelle Morgan-Johnson, Programme Manager for Basketball England.
Better Green Living, joined by The Minimal Brand and representatives from Basketball England, hosted the event for 12 Kings X Courage team players to hand over the kits, followed by a match between the players and stakeholders.
Founded in 1967, the centre is dedicated to ending homelessness in London, working with young people to nurture their skills and interests through sports and artistic activities. Last year, 136,000 young people became homeless across the UK[1].
The centre in Kings Cross provides housing advice to 18-24 year olds, has a health team, a youth work and life skills team and delivers the only youth-specific rough sleeping outreach service in London. Between 2022-2023, New Horizon Youth Centre supported 1,146 young people affected by homelessness and provided 2,456 housing advice appointments.
Better Green Living, a design, build and refurbishment company focused on the commercial sector, is committed to working with charities and sustainable initiatives, allocating at least 20% of post-tax profits to carefully selected sustainability and outreach projects.
Simon Stevens, Sports and Men’s Youth Worker at New Horizon Youth Centre, said: “We consulted young people at New Horizon Youth Centre about what sports they would be interested in playing on a weekly basis, so NHYC basketball sessions began! I am proud to see the sessions continuing to grow steadily with 10 to 15 people of mixed ability and genders now attending.
“Earlier this year we organised a competition for the young people to design a kit and to come up with a name for the team: Kings X Courage was born! Kings Cross, because that is where we are based, and courage because we want young people to be encouraged to play and have the courage to achieve what they want in life.
“It was fantastic that the winning designs were put together with KJ who is a young man with his own clothing brand – Kórrage – in collaboration with Jake from The Minimum Brand. We are grateful for Better Green’s support in skilling up young people with clothing design, creating the kits and getting them produced. Our young people love them and are thrilled to have a kit they can be proud of playing in, created by and for themselves.
“The launch was a brilliant day. It was great to see Dee and others from Better Green get involved with playing basketball, coach our team and even sponsor a lovely meal with the young people afterwards!”
