Meet the Winners of the Brent Cross Town Community Fund 2024

Art Against Knives, Brent Cross Town Community Fund shortlist (Brent Cross Town)

Strong, caring communities make good neighbourhoods great, and at Brent Cross Town one of our four pledges is building a happy, flourishing community. We’re thrilled to be able to support some of Barnet’s incredible community groups and projects via The Brent Cross Town Community Fund

The 2024 Fund’s focus is on projects and initiatives that contribute to skills development, employment, and education outcomes.  Matching last year’s fund of £50,000, it takes the total of overall grants awarded to local good causes to £230,000.

Community Fund shortlisted Pro Touch (Brent Cross Town)

BRIGHTER FUTURES FOR YOUNG PEOPLE

As well as running a football academy, Pro Touch helps young people not in education, employment or training to access sports-related careers.

With their Brent Cross Town Community Fund Award, Pro Touch will run the Brighter Futures for Young People project, offering 12 young people places on courses in sports education or youth work, one-to-one mentoring support sessions and help with their CVs and interview skills. At the end of their course, the participants will in turn support 60 local young people through a community sports project and mentorship.

Find out more about Pro Touch SA
Brent Cross Town Community Fund shortlisters Barnet Mencap (Brent Cross Town)

EMPLOYMENT SUPPORT FOR PEOPLE WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES AND AUTISTIC PEOPLE

Only 6% of people in the UK who have a learning disability are in paid employment. Barnet Mencap is changing this by helping people build CVs, search for jobs, prepare for interviews and access education. Finding employment improves people’s self-esteem, fosters a sense of purpose and achievement, and allows them to help support themselves financially.

Barnet Mencap’s Brent Cross Town Community Fund grant will enable them to employ a facilitator twice weekly for 52 weeks, supporting 130 people in their search for employment, and cover the cost of three laptops for use in the scheme.

Find out more about Barnet Mencap
Art Against Knives (Brent Cross Town)

THE LAB RECORDS

Art Against Knives set up their pop-up music studio The Lab ten years ago to support young people at risk of violence, exploitation and abuse by offering a safe social space and a place where they can learn skills that help them to find work in the music industry.

With their Brent Cross Town Community Fund grant, Art Against Knives will be able to run The Lab for an extra day each week and one-to-one mentoring and training for 30 young people, improving their confidence, capabilities and prospects.

Find out more about Art Against Knives
ART CAFE Brent Cross Town Community Fund (Brent Cross Town)

ART CAFÉ

We Restart’s Art Café offers weekly workshops focused on art, English language and British culture for local asylum seekers, whose ability to find work is limited by language barriers, social isolation and a lack of pathways into creative sectors.

We Restart’s Brent Cross Town Community Fund grant will fund 22 weekly Art Café workshops between January and June 2025 for asylum seekers over 16. The workshops will be led by a professional artist and facilitator and will focus on developing creative skills, enhancing English language proficiency, and gaining insights into British culture, with all materials provided.

Find out more about We Restart
Brent Cross Town Community Fund Winners Motivez CIC (Brent Cross Town)

SUSTAINABLE BARNET

Unhealthy pollution levels and an ever-increasing climate crisis, fuelling the transition to clean energy is more important than ever. However, there is currently a shortfall of 470,000 STEM professionals and young people from deprived areas most affected by climate change find it harder to access STEM careers.

Community and youth-led group Motivez CIC will use its grant from The Brent Cross Community Fund to run Sustainable Barnet, a three-month project connecting 300 young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to professionals from the STEM industries. The project will feature a hackathon-style competition to develop STEM-based solutions to local pollution issues, intimate workshops and mentoring from relatable and inspirational STEM professionals.

Find out more about Motivez CIC

If you’d like to support any of these organisations, or think that you could benefit from their work, please contact Kieran Prout for more information.

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