Children play dress up in Victorian clothes at the Ragged School in London.Donations

Ragged School Museum

February 16, 2015By

Boost for Victorian family learning programme

The whole family can enjoy “a day in the life of a Victorian” thanks to our support of the The Ragged School Museum‘s family learning programme.

Our donation of £3,000 will go towards free, drop-in Family Learning Holiday Activities in the school holidays.These activities are designed to engage the whole family, highlighting how learning together can be fun. It is estimated over 4,000 people will benefit from the Family Learning Programme over the year, here in what today remains a deprived area of London.

“Everyone at the Ragged School Museum feels proud and privileged to receive another donation from the Axis Foundation.  Your generosity is vital support for our lively family learning programme. We couldn’t be more grateful. Victorian philanthropy created the ragged school movement, today the Axis Foundation mirrors that generosity for new generations of children for which we are truly grateful” – Erica Davies,  Museum Director

More About The Ragged School Museum

The Ragged School Museum offers a unique experience, a living snapshot of Victorian childhood. Here, in a reconstructed Victorian classroom, pupils on school visits can directly experience how their destitute Victorian counterparts were taught. There is also a contemporaneous East End kitchen, so they can discover how hard domestic work was before electricity powered washing machines! The Museum is housed at  Dr Barnardo’s Copperfield Road Ragged School in Mile End which, from 1877, provided education, food and clothing to Victorian London’s destitute. It was the largest ragged school in London.

 

See our video celebrating our 10th birthday in 2019 – and find out how the Ragged School used our donation

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Boy stands on ball next to new sports equipment at Confidence through sportDonations

Confidence Through Sport

January 12, 2015By

New sports equipment for children in deprived area

Confidence Through Sport is a community organisation that runs sporting activities for 5-11 year olds. They are located in a park and a school club in North Thamesmead.

£2,500 from the Axis Foundation will fund new sports equipment for the sports-based community initiative, which operates in one of the most deprived areas in the country. We’re covering the cost of footballs, goals and some brand-new training apparatus.

The project remains affordable so that underprivileged children and those with additional needs or disabilities can also partake in healthy outdoor activities. They focus on football but other sports, such as badminton and basketball, are also encouraged.

There are currently 80 children registered and the club is overseen by five volunteers, including three official coaches with one being FA registered. The volunteer coaches strive to be a positive influence on the youngsters, who are often from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Confidence Through Sports seeks to build the self-esteem and motivation of children and young people, as this will assist them in other areas of their lives.

“Before we were running on limited resources but now we have new footballs, built some goals and bought different equipment used to test agility. All of this allows our members to gain valuable sport experience and can help us provide for more young people”  – Robert Parrara, Chairman 

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Child abseiling on residential trip with Purley Youth ProjectDonations

Purley Youth Project

August 6, 2014By

Activity trips for disadvantaged children

Purley Youth Project is a community kids club for children aged 7-12, many of whom are underprivileged or disabled. The club supports over 100 children on a weekly basis, helping them to develop their social and personal skills through programmes that are fun and challenging.

The youth project regularly organises exciting residential trips, treating disadvantaged children to activities such as rock climbing, assault courses, nature trails and more. For some children, these trips are their only opportunity to experience somewhere outside of the area in which they live. Therefore, the excursions broaden their horizons and help them to become more balanced individuals. More importantly, they provide lots of fun!

The Axis Foundation’s donation of £2,000 paid for 40 children to be taken on a three-day residential trip to Kingswood Activity Centre in Ashford. Children benefitted from a rewarding educational programme and took part in thrilling outdoor activities such as zip-wiring and archery.

“I’d like to thank the Axis Foundation, who enabled this residential trip to take place. As well as a great experience for the children, they learnt important lessons in team work and made new friends. They literally haven’t stopped talking about their trip”  – David Garfield, Junior Team Leader 

Previous Donations

Over the years, the Axis Foundation has donated a total of £3,863 towards three residential trips for Purley Youth Project. This has benefitted over 100 disadvantaged children. On top of the trip to Kingswood Centre, we contributed towards two group excursions to Downe Activity Centre in Kent.

Nine-year-old Matthew sent a letter of thanks to the Foundation: “I was so lucky to go to Downe Activity Centre; I had the best time I’ve ever had. Thank you, Axis.”

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Homeless man being served food in The Passage homeless kitchen.Community

The Passage

July 28, 2014By

Help for the homeless in Westminster

The Passage is a day-care centre that operates for the homeless, providing food and shelter, as well as two hostels for vulnerable rough sleepers at night. The centre is used by up to 200 people a day for both men and women, offering basic care, advice, health care re- homing help, education, training and hostel accommodation.

Westminster has the highest concentration of homeless rough sleepers in the country. There is a pressing need to both provide care for them with basic services and to support them to rebuild their lives. The Passage strives to achieve this by helping them access benefits they may be entitled to and by offering educational support so that they can find accommodation and maybe a way of income.

The Axis Foundation has aided The Passage in continuing their support for people in the Westminster area by donating £5,000. This donation will look to furnish the bedrooms in their main hostel and help fund new bedding, towels, table lamps, clock radios and cleaning kits so residents have a clean atmosphere and a pleasant feel to the place.

Over the years a number of Axis people have used their 1 volunteering day a year to volunteer at the passage to help out the homeless in the areas we work.  We have also donated painting equipment with staff volunteering their time to refurbish rooms and several corridors at the Passage Homeless Shelter.

In one year it took £3.9m to run their 48 bed shelter, the day centre and provide support including; mental health care, alcohol and drug rehabilitation, shelter for older homeless people, education and training for employment.

Axis recognised the importance of the Passage’s work and shares the centre’s ethos of providing a hand up rather than a hand out, something Axis employs within the social housing communities in which they work.

 

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Sign outside Charlton Athletic's stadiumDonations

Charlton Athletic Community Trust

May 4, 2014By

Powerful partnerships helps children in deprived areas

The Axis Foundation has donated £85,000 towards Charlton Athletic Community Trust over four years, helping to provide opportunities for young people in deprived communities. The Axis Foundation and Charlton Athletic Community Trust’s (CACT) partnership began in 2010 and collaborated to support thousands of young people over four years.

More About CACT

CACT is a community programme led by Charlton Athletic Football Club that engages with thousands of people across London and Kent. The trust delivers a football development programme for young people from toddlers to aspiring professionals. On top of this, they support those who are disadvantaged with health improvement, employment, crime prevention and educational programmes.

“The achievements of the Trust and their staff are outstanding, they’ve chosen a sport that breaks down barriers and applied their skills and experience to the maximum benefit of the deprived and those in need of help.” John Hayes, Founder of the Axis Foundation.

Close Connections

The Axis Foundation has always had a close connection with Charlton Athletic. The foundation’s founder, John Hayes, is a Charlton fan, and Alan Curbishley, a Charlton legend, is the foundation’s patron. In 2011, the Axis Foundation became a patron of the Charlton Challenge Award Scheme and CACT’s estate-based coaching sessions. Over four years, we donated a total of £85,000 to the trust, helping them to support some of the most deprived communities in South East London and Kent.

Footballer greets charlton upbeats players from charlton athletic community trust

“John and the Axis Foundation has been a long-standing supporter of the Trust. He has been involved with the estate-based sessions and the Charlton Challenge for the past five years; becoming a Patron of these strands cements his support and belief in the Trust’s work.” Jason Morgan, Chief Executive of the Charlton Trust.

The Charlton Challenge

The Charlton Challenge is a scheme, led by FA qualified coaches, that aims to develop children’s core football skills. The course is delivered in sports centres across five London boroughs and is attended by over 1,000 boys and girls every week, many of whom are from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Estate Based Coaching

The Axis Foundation was the sole sponsor and patron of CACT’s Estate Based Coaching. The social inclusion programme runs a variety of sporting activities in deprived communities to 2,000 children every week. This includes leagues and coaching sessions in: football, basketball, dance, self-defence, boxing and fishing. The scheme provides a pathway for youngsters, such as 21-year-old Jonathan, to pursue their ambitions. CACT’s mentorship helped him to gain his first FA Football Coaching qualification:

“The FA Level 1 has helped me with my confidence to teach others what I have learnt. It was a very good experience and a challenge to teach people with different abilities. I just want to thank the Charlton Athletic Community Trust and the Axis Foundation for giving me such a great opportunity to pursue coaching.” Jonathan Peters, Beneficiary of Charlton Athletic Community Trust

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Man teaching life skills to disadvantaged children at Sport 4 LifeDonations

Sport 4 Life

October 12, 2013By

Tackling youth unemployment

Sport 4 Life is a charity that helps people aged 12 to 29 to build better futures through their sports-themed personal development programmes. They aim to tackle youth unemployment at the source by providing mentoring, structured sports sessions and accredited training to marginalised young people.

Their ‘Be Positive’ programme targets 13 to 25-year olds who have struggled at school, endured difficult home lives, or developed behavioural issues. It helps them to build confidence, develop life skills and gain qualifications through structured educational and development activities.

The Axis Foundation has donated £2,000 towards the ‘Be Positive’ programme, directly benefitting the 90 disadvantaged young males who are enrolled on the course. Furthermore, the wider community will benefit from increased youth engagement and subsequent reductions in crime and anti-social behaviour.

Educational workshops at Sports 4 Life focus on key inner-city issues such as alcohol, drugs, sexual health and knife crime. They are designed to improve the behaviour, attitudes, and self-esteem of the youngsters involved. The Axis Foundation’s donation will also purchase much needed educational resources which the charity previously had no funding for.

“Sport 4 Life are incredibly grateful for the generous donation received from the Axis Foundation. This financial support will enable us to provide sports-themed educational programmes to some of the UK’s most disadvantaged young people, and to support them to gain qualifications, transform their behaviour, and ultimately build themselves a better future. We look forward to using the donation to further our charitable work and help disadvantaged young people” – James Forrest, Manager 

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Child learning horse riding at the Ebony Horse ClubDonations

Ebony Horse Club

March 9, 2013By

Horse riding lessons for disadvantaged youngsters

Ebony Horse Club is a charity that runs a horse riding programme for young people in inner-city communities. The project benefits social housing residents from the London Boroughs of Lambeth, Southwark and Wandsworth. It enables children aged 8-16 to experience an activity rarely available in urban areas.

£2479 from the Axis Foundation will pay for 72 children to participate in a two day horse riding introduction course. Keen riders can then to take part in a six-week follow-on programme, also covered by the donations.

“We know from the success of two pilot projects that there is a strong and consistent interest in horse riding from children living in these communities. Unfortunately very few families in social housing can afford to access this type of activity for their children, so they miss out” – Neighbourhood Investment Officer, Maud Gambier-Ellis

The charity has over 16 years experience working with children from disadvantaged backgrounds and has recently opened in Loughborough (Lambeth), one of the most deprived wards in the country. Children are encouraged to take part in many other educational activities including: educational visits, residential trips, and being sponsored for equestrian studies.

 “We’re happy to support a cause that provides children with limited opportunities the ability to gain new experiences and skills, in this case the basics of horse riding and caring for animals. But that will also help with the wider development of their listening, communication and team working skills”- John Hayes, Axis Foundation Trustee 

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Children playing at Myddleton Grange youth project.Community

Myddleton Grange Residents Association

February 8, 2011By

Community youth project reduces anti-social behaviour

Myddleton Grange Residents community youth project  aims to reduce anti-social behaviours in young people and also to project young residents from gang-related attacks. They want to offer a safe and friendly environment for teenagers to learn important life skills.

The Axis Foundation answered the association’s plea to help make their estate a safer environment for all – by donating an initial £1,000 to cover thirty-two hours of a qualified youth worker’s time.

The donation to the Myddleton Grange Youth Project will contribute to a variety of activities for children aged 10-19, through 2 three hour weekly sessions, as well as weekend residential adventure schemes for older children.

Around 35 children use the youth project, half of whom are under 15, and while they are occupied the entire estate of around 400 households feel the benefit.
The donation from the Axis Foundation will allow for a wider scope of activities and greater capacity to engage with more youngsters, by funding trained workers to lead art/craft, dance, sport, drama and music classes. As well as the Youth club, this local community association also provides residents with a baby & toddler group, social events, organising training in areas such as First Aid, Safeguarding and Food Hygiene.

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