Our story
A Bradford story.
A Bradford promise.
Twenty years of walking alongside young people in our city - and we're only getting started.
Wayne Jacobs
Founder
The founder
From the Premier League to the back streets of Bradford.
Wayne Jacobs spent his career as a professional footballer - most notably for Bradford City in the Premier League. When his playing days ended, he could have gone anywhere. He chose to stay.
A devout Christian, Wayne founded One In A Million in 2005 with a single, stubborn belief: that if you can change one child's life, it's been worth it.
Twenty years later, that single belief has become twelve thousand stories - young people in Bradford given the chance to aspire, achieve and break the cycle of poverty their families had been trapped in for generations.
"I see footballers, artists, engineers and entrepreneurs. I see leaders. I see what this city can become if we just believe in it."
Our mission
To bring children and young people out of deprivation by showing them what's possible.
We do that through sport, arts and enterprise - three doors into a different future, opened by people who genuinely believe in the young person walking through them.
Our values
Four words we live by.
Honesty
We tell the truth - to the children we serve, to our partners, and about the work.
Compassion
We meet young people where they are, with patience and without judgement.
Integrity
We do what we said we'd do. Every pound, every promise, every time.
Excellence
Children in Bradford deserve the very best. Nothing less is good enough.
Twenty years
A short history.
- •
2005
The beginning
Wayne Jacobs founds One In A Million with a single football session and an idea: every child deserves a chance.
- •
2010
Schools partnership
Programmes scale into Bradford schools across sport, arts and enterprise.
- •
2015
10 years, 5,000 lives
The charity hits a major milestone and launches its corporate partners programme.
- •
2020
Pandemic response
Food, devices and outreach for families locked down in the most deprived wards of the city.
- •
2025
20 years strong
Over 12,000 young people supported. The work continues - one starfish at a time.