Dear Friends and Supporters,
Welcome to the latest update from Tom's Trust; a brief snapshot into some of the remarkable work being done every day to transform young lives and tackle the root causes of violent street crime in London. All of it made possible thanks to your generous donations.
If you would like to set up a small, regular donation by direct debit, it couldn't be simpler or quicker to do and enables us to help provide the kind of consistent, long-term support our partner organisations need most.
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BUTTLE BURSARIES - KEMAL'S STORY
For the last 10 years Tom’s Trust has been helping Buttle UK offer bursaries to some of the most deserving children in London, enabling them to be educated at a boarding school for the sake of their wellbeing. In most cases they are simply not able to attend the local school due to circumstances at home. Kemal Kenton was one such beneficiary who recently wrote to thank us for the support and share his story.
 I would like to thank all at Tom's Trust for giving my mother the financial support that enabled me to attend such a renowned and elite institution as King Edwards Witley. Without your support I would never have experienced so much over the past five years. I have shared rooms with kids from Hong Kong and Bulgaria, competed in intense House competitions, gained social skills, joined a number of sports teams, and stepped outside my comfort zone. These experiences have moulded the character I am today and given me skills I will need to be a success in the wider world, making me more open-minded to people of all backgrounds, creed and colour, and to trying new things.
King Edwards has also allowed me to succeed academically. I am aware that if I had not received financial support the outcome of my GCSEs could have been negatively affected due to the environment I would have grown up in. I will be forever grateful for the support your charity offered my mother. Thank you for the experience you have allowed me to have.
Yours sincerely,
Kemal Kenton.
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SALMON YOUTH CENTRE: BEATING HEART OF BERMONDSEY
Despite being home to the Mayor's gleaming City Hall offices, the iconic Tower Bridge and hundreds of luxury warehouse apartments, Bermondsey also has some of the most overlooked and deprived neighbourhoods in inner city London.
It has been that way since at least 1906, when Salmon Youth Centre, then called Cambrige Medical Mission Settlement, first opened its doors to help the poor. Today, SYC welcomes around 500, 6-25 year-olds each week, promoting positive change and supporting their transition to adulthood, through health and wellbeing, education and work, community engagement and 35 weekly activity sessions including adventure, arts, dance, drama, music and sports.
Meet Naod Kahsay, a peer mentor and coach at SYC who's role has been made possible thanks to Tom's Trust funding....
“I have been at SYC for two years as an apprentice and was recently given a full time role. With Tom’s Trust support I've been able to run 3 clubs that tackle the issues and disadvantages young people face within this community. The sessions focus on building relationships and taking steps to make positive change. I have also been a mentor for over a year now and used my training to build priceless relationships and seen huge improvements in the young people’s lives.
I am also heavily involved in coaching football and basketball teams at the centre, and plan to extend this across the 4 main estates in the area in order to engage the young people who are most at risk and hardest to reach."
www.salmonyouthcentre.org
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Club Peloton is Tom's Trust's biggest donor organisation and has been since we first established in 2006. Back then it was known as Cycle2Cannes and was focussed on one annual ride from London to the big real estate conference in Cannes. But as the UK cycling scene boomed, so too did Club Peloton under the diligent direction of founder and CEO Nick Hanmer.
It now organises dozens of epic rides every year, encouraging thousands to get fit and push themselves to the limit and has raised 10s of millions for a selection of charities. We count ourselves exceedingly fortunate to be among them and urge all our supporters to consider signing up for a life-changing, lycra-chaffing, friendship-building, fundraising, cycling experience.
www.clubpeloton.org
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TOM'S FARM - USING NATURE TO NURTURE
One of the first major projects your donations funded was the construction of a small-but-perfectly-formed farm at Nightingale Academy, a school for children with severe behavioural and emotional difficulties in South London.
Nearly a decade after it was opened in 2009 the farm continues to play an important part in the daily life of hundreds of Nightingale pupils as well as children with learning and hearing difficulties from nearby Orchard Hill and Oak Lodge schools. Learning to look after the animals is proven to foster empathy and value for life and has a calming, therapeutic effect on the children.
The pupils can take a B.Tech. in Animal Care, as well as NVQ and AQA qualifications that can help them gain employment in the future.
Your donations recently paid for essential drainage repairs, new retaining walls and stable roofing, and Tom's Trust is very happy to continue to support this unique and valuable facility.
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GONGS IN THE KEY OF LIFE!
Huge congratulations to Wozzy Brewster OBE, the irrepressible driving force behind one of our longest-standing partner organisations, Midi Music. On Friday March 23rd Wozzy was granted the freedom of Lewisham, the highest honour the borough can bestow. This recognition for dedicating her life to helping so many people in so many ways is thoroughly well deserved. |
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TOM'S TRUST THANKS...
The Vivace Chorus of Guildford most kindly chose Tom’s Trust as their ‘charity-to-collect-for’ on their “Come & Sing” day in January this year. On the day a very able team of men helped to serve delicious food on behalf of Tom’s Trust, and washed up afterwards! They were then able to listen to a performance of Elgar’s ‘Dream of Gerontius’ at the end of the day. A significant sum was raised in the bucket collection and the choir itself also gave a generous contribution to the Trust.
 
Trinity College, Cambridge. The Trust has given an annual bursary to a student at Trinity College, Cambridge (the College Tom attended) in Tom’s memory for the past 10 years. This ‘Memorial Bursary’ will now continue to exist every year in perpetuity, which is a fitting and worthy tribute to Tom.
Last but not least – a big Thank You to Linklaters LLP, where Tom worked, who continue to give so much support to the Trust in so many ways. It is great to have no less than four present and former Linklaters Partners as Trustees, whose expertise is so much appreciated. We think that Tom would be pleased and proud of this legacy. Two of Tom’s close friends also provide excellent advice and specific knowledge of the Charity Sector to add to our talented Trustee Team.
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