Ubuntu Youth  Thank  you  for  your  part  in  bringing  the  Youth  Futures  Project  to  life  this  year.      I  want  to  introduce  myself,  Issy  Crocker  Chair  of  the  Board  of  Directors  for  Ubuntu  Youth  –  the  organisation  behind  Youth  Futures.    Together  with  Joseph  the  board  and  I  want  to  give  you  a  brief  snapshot  of  our  activities,  and  invite  you  to  celebrate  the  successes  with  us,  knowing  that  you  are  a  significant  part  of  making  it  all  happen.    We  have  been  amazed  in  particular  by  the  quality  and  consistency  of  support  –  people  gravitating  to  this  project  

because  they  want  to  be  a  part  of  something  so  significant,  staying  engaged  and  encouraging  others  to  come,  or  putting  some  money  this  way  –  knowing  that  almost  every  penny  goes  to  delivery.  Chances  are  you  are  one  of  those  people;  that  in  some  way(s)  you  are  supporting  this  project,  and  we  are  very  grateful  to  you  for  that.  

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And  what  makes  this  project  so  significant?    It  is  the  young  people  themselves,  they  are  truly  amazing.  They  have  life  and  spirit  and  high  aspirations  for  themselves  and  their  community.  They  put  Camberwell  and  Southwark  on  the  map.      Please  feel  free  to  browse  through  our  journey  and  achievements.    

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 Our  directors/trustees.    In  January  2012  a  passionate  group  of  four  Directors  were  drawn  together  by  Joseph.    Inspired  by  the  principles  of  Ubuntu  and  the  work  being  done  in  South  London  they  setup  a  not  for  profit  company,  Ubuntu  Youth,  a  social  enterprise.    

 

How we got to where we are now  -­‐  In  September  2011  the  charity  that  had  been  supporting  us  no  longer  had  adequate  resources.    -­‐  The  workers  and  young  people  made  a  group  decision  to  run  the  sessions  independently.    ·∙  Volunteers  continued  to  give  their  time  and  money  to  pay  for  the  venue  and  food.    ·∙  Since  then  we  have  run  a  session  most  weeks  for  5  hours  from  3.30-­‐8.30pm;  .  30  to  60  young  people,  aged  between  2  to  18  regularly  attend.  -­‐  There  is  food  available  and  we  arrange  birthday  cakes  to  celebrate  each  other’s  birthdays  together.    -­‐  We  assist  the  young  people  with  finding  work,  developing  skills,  getting  back  into  education  and  support  them  with  a  listening  ear.    -­‐  We  continue  this  work  on  an  adhoc  basis  throughout  the  week.  

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Development and Successes

London Citizens and City Safe Havens

Working  with  London  Citizens,  in  particular  Imogen  Moore,  we  have  established  Wyndham  Estate  as  a  Safe  Haven.  This  was  done  in  partnership  with  local  shops  and  businesses  who  now  offer  their  space  to  young  people  if  they  are  in  danger.  The  Young  Leaders  have  created  a  video  for  London  businesses  to  understand  the  purpose  of  City  Safe  and  how  to  respond  in  an  emergency.  These  developments  were  presented  by  our  Young  Leaders  at  London  Citizen  events  to  several  hundred  people.   New Partnerships

Catch  22  -­‐  a  national  Charity  provided  2  of  their  experienced  workers    (Riz  and  Elisha)  to  help  support  our  session  work.  They  have  also  given  us  a  couple  of  computers,  some  art  and  craft  materials  and  provided  First  Aid  training  for  us.  ·∙  The  South  London  Gallery  -­‐  a  local  arts  organisation  -­‐  worked  with  the  Junior  group  each  week  to  develop  exciting  landscapes  and  creations  with  lights  and  bulbs  which  they  have  filmed  and  will  be  released  soon.  

Tenants and Residents Association Ongoing  strong  support  from    Janet,  Pat,  Marc  and  all  of  the  Wyndham  Tenants  and  Residents  association  (our  venue);  continued  to  be  key  in  supporting  us  with  our  growth  –  ensuring  we  could  continue  to  operate  within  the  community  -­‐  partnering  us  when  there  has  been  conflict  with  

young  people  and  advocating  for  us  within  the  council  and  wider  community.  

Wyndham Warriors Sam,  Jasper,  Yemi  and  Football  Beyond  Borders  –  have  been  fantastic  in  establishing  the  Junior  football  team  –  the  Wyndham  Warriors  and  have  helped  find  sponsorship  and  organize  matches  in  Lewisham,  Peckham  and  Wandsworth.

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Underpinning our work

Fundraising:  Although  it  has  been  our  biggest  challenge  this  year,  we  have  made  an  important  start  in  our  fund  raising  focussing  mostly  on  support  from  friends  and  family.  We  intend  to  build  on  this  good  start  in  our  second  year.    Our  successes  this  year  include:    ·∙  Initiated  the  Community  Champions  programme  –  an  invitation  for  people  to  pledge  regular  support  of  £10  a  month.    ·∙  Raised  £3000  from  the  David  Cairns  Foundation  which  has  kept  us  financially  afloat  all  year  –  thanks  to  William  Devine  for  bringing  our  work  to  the  attention  of  that  group,  and  to  the  trustees  of  the  David  Cairns  Foundation  for  their  timely  gift.    ·∙  Written  several  small  funding  applications  this  year,  without  success  so  far  but  some  useful  feedback.    ·∙  Received  a  one-­‐off  donation  of  £200  from  a  film  crew  which  was  working  locally  on  a  new  Jude  Law  film.  Jude  Law  unfortunately  wasn’t  able  to  visit  us  this  time…    ·∙  Held  2  Ubuntu  Dinners  –  one  in  London  and  one  in  Darlington  raising  a  few  hundred  pounds.      -­‐  Some  small  scale  fundraising  activities  –  a  sponsored  walk  –  a  birthday  party  requesting  donations  instead  of  presents,  and  a  ‘Day  of  Reflection  and  Renewal’  also  sourced  from  Darlington.  

 A new website  

www.youthfutures.yolasite.com    Wil  created  our  first  website  and  helped  to  develop  some  new  logos.  He  also  created  lots  of  video  interviews  with  the  young  people  and  staff  to  help  communicate  who  we  are  and  what  we  do.  If  you  haven’t  seen  this  yet  please  check  it  out.    

Charity Application:

We  are  in  the  process  of  applying  to  become  a  

Charity  with  the  Charities  Commision.  This  will  make  

it  easier  to  raise  funds  and  support  our  work.  

 

Policies and Procedures:

We  have  made  a  good  start  with  getting  together  all  

the  policies  and  procedures  that  we  need  in  order  to  

be  safe  and  legal  for  our  work.  Thanks  to  Andy  for  

kicking  this  off  with  trustee  training.  

Thank You!!!  

Some  people  distinguish  themselves  for  their  outstanding  contributions    – Wil  and  Jasper  for  all  the  work  they  have  put  in  behind  the  scenes,  

creating  the  website,  making  videos  and  inspiring  others  to  come  forward.    

– Debs,  Sasha,  Sam,  Hannah,  Alice,  Kerrise  and  Imogen  for  their  immense  energy,  time  and  passion  put  into  delivering  sessions.  

– All  our  Young  Leaders  -­‐  our  older  young  people  who  are  taking  responsibility  for  different  elements  of  the  project.  

   It  would  take  a  book  to  write  a  full  acknowledgement  for  the  parts  each  person  has  played  this  year  and  in  some  cases  for  many  years.  So,  in  the  hope  that  we  have  not  left  anyone  off  this  list  (and  do  please  let  me  know  if  I  have  –  as  it  would  not  be  intentional)  we  have  a  record  of  the  support  in  2012.    Joseph  of  course  does  deserve  a  special  mention  –  he  has  a  capacity  to  draw  people  in  through  his  vision,  compassion  and  ability  to  build  relationships  with  whomever  he  is  with.  And  the  young  people  keep  on  coming,  which  says  so  much.    I  want  to  close  with  some  words  of  one  volunteer.  She  said  “Don’t  thank  me  –  I  love  it”,  and  then  in  a  text  to  Joseph  she  wrote  “Joseph  –  I  don’t  know  what  I’d  do  without  the  youth  project,  which  of  course  wouldn’t  exist  without  you.  So  fond  and  impressed  with  the  group.  2013  is  going  to  be  big!”  Because  of  all  of  you,  

Abbey Alex Ankrah Alice Gray Alison Wood Andrew Jenkins Andrew Purvis Andrew Simpson Andy Wilson Ania Maya Anna Sexton Anne Duncan Anthony Buckland Audrey and Edwin Elder Avril Jones Beau Fadahunsi Bianca Bailey Bill Hutt Blair Bridget Hutt Catch 22 Cherie Cheryl Burden Chris Hughes Christelle Claire Kendall Clifton Darren Hazael Darlington Fund raisers Darren Rudkin

Daryl David Cairns Foundation Debs Cotterell Derrick Diane Riley Drew Eleanor Harper Elisha Lobban Emma Kehoe Fairbridge Fedelia McWhinney Fitz Taylor Folayemi Brown Frances Williams Geoff Davies Georgina Davey Grace Iduwo Georgina Davey Grace Iduwo Grace Semakula Hannah Millar Harry Hazel Yeoman Heather Speight Hussain Ian Tulloch Ijaah

Imogen Moore Jack James Janet Smith Jasper Kain Joel Jonathan Toy Keiko Ono Kerrise Stewart Lauren Willis Liz Serocold Logan London Citizens Louise Bowran Lucy Renton Luna Garzon Mahmuod Mark Brown Mark Martin Dancey Maureen Hazael Mitchell More To Life foundation Nelson Nicky Jenkins Nigel Duncan Norma Tregurtha Pat Edmonds Patricia Paul Obinna

Pauleen Ward Brown Rebecca Ricky Rizwan Khokhar Rob Harper Rukiyah Khatun Sally Hughes Sam Bailey Sasha Smith Schulamit Johanna Kriener South London Gallery Southwark Council Southwark Police Teni Timon Tom Crocker Tony Cealy Tracie Cant Tutu Foundation UK Vernon Douglas Vic Olisa Wil Stewart William Cole William Devine Wyndham TRA and the wider Camberwell Community All who have put support or money our way. And of course... All of the young people of Youth Futures,

See you soon!! Issy, Scott, Judy, Lesley and Joseph