Barnet residents voted for the winners out of a shortlist of seven projects, reports Grace Howarth, Local Democracy Reporter
credit Pro Touch
Five community projects in Brent Cross will benefit from £50,000 in funding.
Brent Cross Town, the 180-acre regeneration site being delivered in a partnership between Barnet Council and Related Argent, has announced five winners of the 2024 Brent Cross Town Community Fund.
In its sixth year, the fund specifically aims to support clubs and community projects that contribute to skills development, employment, and education outcomes.
Barnet residents voted for the winners out of a shortlist of seven projects with five gaining the majority of the almost 1,400 votes cast.
The five projects chosen included ‘Bright Futures for Young People’ run by Pro Touch SA CIC, a non-profit organisation that provides sports and community programmes for young people in London.
The second was ‘Art Cafe’ which helps asylum seekers in the Brent Cross area find community and become employment ready and is run by We Restart.
The third winner was Barnet Mencap for its programme ‘Employment Support for People with Learning Disabilities and Autism’, which helps individuals with disabilities find employment.
The fourth grant went to ‘The Lab Records’, an education and employment programme for young people at risk of violence, exploitation and abuse, run by Art Against Knives.
The fifth was ‘Sustainable Barnet’ which is run by Motivez and is a three-month project that builds relationships between science, technology and mathematics professionals and 300 young people disproportionately affected by climate change in London’s most deprived areas.
First-time applicants, Pro Touch, were awarded £9,950. It delivers a range of programmes for children across ten London boroughs and operates in youth centres, community centres, and schools.
In Barnet it works closely with Park Field Primary School in Hendon where it delivers its Holiday and Active Food (HAF) programme
Co-founder and chief executive officer, Ash Rahman explained in more detail about the organisation’s plans and said: “We want to expand in Barnet specifically, we should be able to start delivering HAF during term-time. We’re there during the three key holidays, Easter, summer and winter, but we’re now able to do something more.”
Ash added that the aim was to roll-out HAF at day camps that run in the holidays and is exclusively available to children eligible for benefit-related free school meals, as well as “kick start” it during term-time.
He continued: “We know that Brent Cross Town has a community centre, can we move in there and provide a service two days a week for example from a local provider?
“Can we pick up our successful model that we’ve got in other housing estates in Camden and Westminster, where we provide workshops, physical health and wellbeing activities, arts and crafts, and drop it into Brent Cross Town?”
The organisation is also aiming to create more employment pathways and opportunities for older children.
Ash said: “Can we provide resources, training, and a platform for children to follow their passion? They might want to become a referee, a sports coach, they might have a passion for gaming, arts and crafts. We want to help them upskill and gain qualifications.”
Reacting to the wins, Barnet Council’s cabinet member for culture, leisure, arts and ports, Anne Clarke, said: “I was delighted to join the judging panel for this year’s Brent Cross Town Community Fund. We received over 50 applications, so thank you to everyone who shared a proposal.
“The public have now voted for five brilliant projects that focus on delivering skills, employment and training. Thank you to everyone who voted and made a difference.”
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