5 August 2009
Youth ambassadors take the lead at Stephen Lawrence Centre
City Bridge Trust funds new youth initiative in South London
This week the City Bridge Trust, the London-wide 21st-century
grant-making trust funded from ancient tolls from the City of
London Corporation's London Bridge, has announced a charitable
grant that will drive a pioneering ‘peer-to-peer’ campaign at the
Stephen Lawrence Centre in Lewisham, South London.
£90,000 has been awarded by London’s most historic grant-maker
to fund the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust’s new three-year
project, ‘I Base,’ which will be put into action by a core of 30
youth ambassadors within Deptford and New Cross.
The roving representatives will work to introduce up to 1,800
16-24 year-olds among their peers to the £7m flagship centre, as
well as leading efforts to engage with third-sector policy makers
and assuming responsibility for the day-to-day management of the
centre. With the support now secured from the City Bridge Trust, a
project co-ordinator will be recruited to oversee this next phase
of the Centre’s development, and the training of the youth
ambassador contingent.
Clare Thomas, Chief Grants Officer from the City Bridge Trust,
says, ‘The Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust’s approach is unique
and wholly relevant to today’s challenges. While celebrity
ambassadors give a good ‘face’ to youth campaigns, the ‘I Base’
approach is grounded in real London life. Their youth ambassadors
will walk the same walk and talk the same talk, promoting positive
change from the inside.’
Based on Brookmill Road in Deptford SE8, the Stephen Lawrence
Centre opened last year to provide an ‘urban living room’ -
offering local young people a safe environment to learn and get
creative in one of London’s most disadvantaged areas. The building
is home to an internet suite, science facilities and art studios,
which are accessible seven days a week. The centre also offers life
skills and employability support in an area hit hard by high levels
of NEETs (young people who are ‘Not in Employment, Education or
Training’).
Doreen Lawrence OBE, who set-up the Stephen Lawrence Charitable
Trust following her son’s tragic murder in South London in 1993,
says, ‘The support of the City Bridge Trust is essential to helping
us put young people from all backgrounds at the heart of the
Stephen Lawrence Centre. The inter-cultural relationships we build
at the Centre are vital in breaking down prejudice and creating
united inner city communities.’
‘I Base’ at The Stephen Lawrence Centre underpins one of the
City Bridge Trust’s long-term aims to build bridges between the
capital’s many and diverse communities. In 2004, the City Bridge
Trust published the Fear and Fashion Report, a milestone study into
the public and third sectors’ fight against the use of knives and
weapons by young people, and the most effective ways of
intervention.
The City Bridge Trust is the grant-making arm of Bridge House
Estates and was set up in 1995. The Trust uses funds surplus to the
bridge requirements to make grants for charitable activity
benefitting the inhabitants of London. Around £15m per annum may be
available for distribution, depending on bridge requirements.
This year is the Trust’s 800th Anniversary. In 1209, the last
stone completed ‘Old London Bridge,’ from which the funds came.
Ends
Notes to Editors:
For press enquiries please contact:
Neil Cassley at Rain Communications UK
Tel 020 7222 4345
Email
neil.cassley@raincommunications.co.uk
The City Bridge Trust
The City Bridge
Trust is London’s largest independent grant-making trust, and its
sole trustee is the City of London Corporation. Through
grant-making and strategic initiatives, the City Bridge Trust works
closely with voluntary groups and charities to reduce disadvantage
in London. The City Bridge Trust was set up in 1995 as the grant
making arm of Bridge House Estates whose original purpose was to
maintain the first stone bridge across the River Thames – London
Bridge. Its funds date from the 12th century when tolls were first
charged. www.citybridgetrust.org.uk
Bridge House Estates
The parent charity
is The Bridge House Estates. This was set up to fund the
maintenance and development of the City’s bridges with an annual
provision set aside for this purpose. It receives no financial
support from the Government or from any other fund. The fund paid
for the building of Blackfriars Bridge, the purchase of Southwark
Bridge, and the construction of Tower Bridge. In February 2002 the
fund took over the ownership and maintenance of the pedestrian-only
Millennium Bridge. The primary function of the Bridge House Estates
remains the maintenance of London, Tower, Southwark, Blackfriars
and the Millennium Bridges.
City of London Corporation
The City of London Corporation is committed to maintaining and
enhancing the status of the business City as a world-leading
international financial and business centre and is engaged in many
partnership and regeneration projects across wider London, working
with national and other local government – as well as business and
the not-for-profit sector. The City of London Corporation is the
sole trustee of The City Bridge Trust.
The Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust
Stephen Lawrence dreamed of becoming an architect, so he could
influence the design of inner cities "from within": unusually, he
wanted to be an architect in his own community. Stephen's dreams
were cut short by his murder in 1993. But his dreams live on,
because his family and the friends who helped them launch the Trust
believed his dreams could inspire other young people, especially
those who may have lost faith in their own dreams. The Trust is
helping make Stephen's dreams a reality for others by opening up
architectural and related professions to Britain's most
disadvantaged young people. The Trust does its work by
- awarding bursaries to young people who want to train as
architects or construction specialists
- liaising between schools and construction companies
- presenting to schools and educational institutions, and
- working with the government to find new ways to build
communities with self-respect, and to regenerate urban
areas.