Serial entrepreneur Jonathan Hick urges businesses to invest in young people with Run With It

Speaking at the charity’s annual Patrons’ Breakfast at Beverley Barn, the Beverley-born businessman endorsed its work, saying it gives young people the confidence, skills and aspirations that can shape their futures.

Reflecting on his own career, which spans more than 35 years and has seen him work with some of Europe’s most successful business leaders, Jonathan said:

“It’s lovely to be back in my home town and to see the work Run With It is doing. They’re helping more than 3,000 young people in a year and that is just incredible.

“I find it heartbreaking that there are children in Hull who haven’t seen the Humber Bridge or children in Bridlington who haven’t seen the beach. You might think you were talking about 60 years ago, but we’re talking about 2026.

“I was lucky enough to develop confidence and leadership skills as a child and that gave me opportunities. What Run With It is doing is giving young people that same window of opportunity - to see things, experience things, build confidence and understand what might be possible outside the world they know.

“Nobody should fall under the radar when it comes to confidence, learning and seeing opportunities. Run With It gives these young people a chance.”

Run With It works with young people across Hull, East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire who are struggling to thrive in a traditional education setting. By taking learning out of the classroom and into exciting real-world environments like football stadiums, shopping centres and Humberside Airport, it gives young people the chance to learn by doing, discover what they can achieve and see possibilities they may never have considered before, while at the same time building literacy, numeracy, confidence and skills for everyday life and future careers.

During 2025/26, Run With It taught 3,367 pupils from 81 different schools across its seven centres on both sides of the Humber - an 18.8 per cent increase on the previous year, equating to 33,590 hours of literacy and numeracy learning.

Lisa Dawson, Director of Run With It, said:

“What we have achieved over the last 12 months is down to the incredible support of our Patrons, supporters, schools and partners. We simply couldn’t do this work without them. Their support has enabled us to reach even more children as we continue to expand across the Humber.

“But we don’t want to stand still. There are so many more children who could benefit from what we do and that’s why we’re inviting more businesses to join us as Patrons. Whether it’s opening a door, making an introduction, supporting us financially or helping us reach a school that could benefit from our programmes, there are lots of ways to get involved.”

Parent Ann Newlove also spoke at the event standing alongside her 16-year-old son James, who has additional needs and hidden disabilities. She said the practical approach had helped him engage with learning in a way that traditional classroom teaching could not.

“We’re incredibly grateful for what Run With It does. James has taken part in three different programmes through his school and absolutely loved every one.

“The activities at the stadium really got him engaged in maths. The Beverley programme was particularly exciting for him and gave him the confidence to believe that he could make plans and have experiences like that for himself in the future. So we actually did the trip James had planned on that day, together, as a family. It was amazing.”

Meanwhile, Run With It Chair Shaun Watts said:

“We’re seeing children become more confident, develop aspirations and start to see possibilities beyond what they may have previously thought was achievable. That is what this is all about. We’d love to welcome more businesses who share our belief that every child should have the opportunity to grow, aspire and succeed.”

Run With It works out of seven centres: MKM Stadium in Hull, Flemingate shopping centre in Beverley, Bridlington Town Football Club, Sewell Group Craven Park in East Hull, Humberside Airport, Grimsby Town FC’s Blundell Park and The Attis Arena, home to Scunthorpe United.

For more information or to join Run With It’s Patron Scheme, please email lisa.dawson@runwithithull.co.uk.