One Year On: An Update from the Ricky Hatton Foundation
As we approach the first anniversary of the Ricky Hatton Foundation, we want to share an update on the progress made so far and, importantly, what comes next.
The response since the Foundation was established has been incredible.
The support of the public, the boxing community, businesses, fundraisers and people who simply loved Ricky and have reached out has enabled us to start building something meaningful and lasting in his name.
We are enormously grateful to everyone who has donated, raised money, offered their time, opened doors or supported the Foundation in any way.
Building the Foundations
The Ricky Hatton Foundation is still a young organisation, supported largely by people giving their time voluntarily.
During our first year, we have focused on establishing the governance and processes the Foundation needs, agreeing its organisational structure, defining volunteer roles and developing an operational plan that will allow us to deliver projects capable of making a real and lasting difference.
We have also worked to build awareness, develop relationships and partnerships, raise funds and determine where the Foundation can have the greatest impact.
Throughout this process, we have continued to consult with Ricky’s family and those who knew and worked closely with him.
We have taken our time over this deliberately.
There are already many excellent organisations doing important work in mental health, many of which Ricky actively supported. We do not want to duplicate that work simply to create activity for the sake of it. We want everything delivered by the Foundation to have a clear purpose, demonstrate genuine impact and feel authentically Ricky.
Moving from Planning to Delivery
We have now agreed the next stage of the Foundation’s development and are moving from planning and preparation into programme delivery.
Our first priority will be to provide free mental health first-aid education.
We want to give people practical knowledge that helps them recognise when somebody may be struggling, feel more confident about starting a conversation and understand what they can do next.
The new course will be available free of charge to anyone who wants to take part, helping people develop their knowledge and feel more confident and empowered when faced with situations that can be difficult to navigate without appropriate training.
Alongside this, we are developing a new initiative called Twelve Rounds of Support.
This will be a new online wellbeing programme, free to anyone who wants to access it, built around a straightforward idea: you do not have to fix everything at once.
One round. One action. One positive step at a time.
It will encourage practical actions around connection, movement, routine and general wellbeing, while providing appropriate routes to specialist support when someone needs more.
Beyond these initial programmes, we are developing further activity inspired by Ricky’s personality, humour, boxing and extraordinary ability to bring people together.
Doing Things Differently
One of the biggest conversations we have had while developing the Foundation’s plans has been about what made Ricky different from so many other famous and successful sportspeople.
Ricky could walk into a room and speak to a world champion, a bricklayer, a taxi driver or somebody who had travelled halfway around the world to watch him fight in exactly the same way.
He made people laugh. He made people comfortable. Despite everything he achieved, people felt he was one of them.
We believe there is something incredibly powerful in that.
Support does not always begin with somebody saying:
“I’m struggling with my mental health.”
Sometimes it starts much earlier.
A message. A conversation. A walk. A boxing session. A laugh.
Or simply somebody reminding you that they are in your corner.
That is the space in which we want the Ricky Hatton Foundation to take the lead, and we want to do it in our own way.
Measuring What Matters
Raising awareness and funds is important, but ultimately we want the Foundation to be judged by the difference it makes.
We want to measure what happens because the Ricky Hatton Foundation exists.
How many people have received free education?
How many people have completed our programmes?
How many people have taken part in Foundation activity?
How many communities have we reached?
Most importantly, what difference has that activity made?
A new RHF digital platform is now being developed to deliver our programmes and help us capture and report their impact.
The new website will also include clear information about the Foundation’s programmes, governance, finances, partnerships and the impact being created.
The Ricky Hatton Foundation is currently established as a company limited by guarantee, without share capital, operating on a not-for-profit basis. Our intention is always to reinvest any funds we receive to maximise the impact of the Foundation.
We are determined to create a long-term, sustainable organisation that Ricky would be proud of, and that his family, friends and fans can be proud of too.
Activity in Ricky’s Name
As the Foundation’s profile grows, we recognise the importance of helping people understand which programmes, partnerships, events and fundraising activities are officially connected with RHF.
For clarity, the Foundation has had no involvement in the commissioning of, or commercial arrangements relating to, Adam Smith’s book about Ricky. While Adam has been a significant supporter of the Foundation’s work and is a member of our Board, the book has been developed and published independently in his personal capacity.
We wish Adam every success with the book and with the money he hopes to raise for the various charities that will benefit from its sales.
Ringwalk Media 12 also has no role in managing the Foundation’s social media, communications or media strategy and does not have, and has never had, any agreement or contract with the Foundation to provide those services.
Our new website will make it easier for supporters to identify official Foundation activity and understand how they can get involved.
This is not about discouraging people from celebrating Ricky’s life or supporting his legacy. Quite the opposite. It is about ensuring that supporters have clear and accurate information about the work of the Foundation and how Ricky’s name is being used.
Building Something That Lasts
We have ambitious plans for the Ricky Hatton Foundation, but we are not building something for six months or twelve months.
We want it to last.
That means putting the right governance around the Foundation, involving the right people, working with appropriate professional partners and making thoughtful decisions about how the money entrusted to us is used.
Most importantly, it means never losing sight of whose name is above the door.
Ricky achieved extraordinary things in boxing, but perhaps the reason he meant so much to so many people was not simply what he did in the ring.
It was how he made people feel outside it.
Our job now is to take a little of that and turn it into something that can continue helping people for years to come.
We are incredibly grateful to everyone who has helped us get this far.
The foundations have been laid.
Now it is time to build on them.
No One Needs To Fight Alone.
The Ricky Hatton Foundation