City Gateway

 

 

 

 

City Gateway is a charity dedicated to bringing hope to the local communities of Tower Hamlets that haven't benefitted from the area’s wider economic development. We look to connect with local women and disadvantaged young people, and run programmes which engage them, train them and provide them with the skills and opportunities they need to enter work. We were set up by a group of City workers involved in local churches, keen to support the community around them.

 

We run women’s projects, youth training, a youth centre and a social enterprise hub - offering disadvantaged individuals everything from community events and drop-in youth clubs through to apprenticeship schemes and the chance to develop their own business ideas. We look to bring together different cultures and work against conflict and division.

 

We seek to provide individuals with the confidence, employability skills and the all round development they need to reach their potential. In partnership with a wide range of firms and community organisations we have seen amazing changes in both groups and individuals and made a visible difference to local statistics.

 

 

 

Progression is a key focus of our current delivery and one of the reasons our projects have been successful – offering young people and women clear stepping stones towards employment & independence. As a natural extension of this work we plan to launch a new support project aimed at helping young people through three key transitional phases in their life.

 

 

The programme would be headed up by a small team of Transition Workers, providing Information, Advice & Guidance at all these stages but also offering wider, more holistic, support opportunities including:

 

The project ties in closely not only with our existing training opportunities but the close school partnerships we have built up through work at our Limehouse youth centre. The scheme would involve going into schools and working with pupils who are struggling to engage, for whatever reason, and seeing how extra support can help them re-engage with the opportunities available to them.

 

 

 

 

Covers all associated costs, new materials & the salary of one Transition Worker. They will focus on supporting those going through the key 14-16 transition stage, both work within schools and from our base at Limehouse Youth Centre.
Impact: 20 on Key Stage 4 Course, 80 through schools work, 30 ‘at risk’ 14-16s – Total 130

 

Covers an additional youth worker able to focus on early intervention/prevention work with those aged 10-13. The budget also allows the team to run a number of one-off events and courses as part of raising the profile and impact of the project.

 

A key milestone which allows us to have 3 youth workers, each with a focus on one of the identified transition stages. The team would have the time both to link in with existing projects and to develop these new streams of work in the community. The budget also covers the costs of 2 residential trips, life changing experiences for the young people involved.

 

This much funding would allow the team to extend the project with a detached outreach programme, engaging young people on local estates where they live rather than relying on referrals or our drop-in youth centre. The money would help support a flagship Summer project running throughout the Summer holidays with a wide range of activities to keep young people off the streets, engaged and in learning.

 

Would replace and equip our recently decommissioned media bus and provide us with an incredibly valuable tool in reaching out to the local community. The bus would be a mobile City Gateway centre running outreach work, teaching projects and providing advice & guidance. The bus would greatly increase the scope of the transitions project and give it a solid, visible legacy. This level of funding would also provide the resources to develop it into a largely self-sustaining social enterprise project, ensuring a long term future for the scheme.

 

At this level of funding the project would take on an additional staff member and would also provide financial stability to guarantee the project for a second year. This not only allows the scheme to become instantly more established but crucially makes it more likely that we can develop its funding and sustainability to continue indefinitely. The money would also provide capital to make essential improvements to the youth centre facilities including much needed work in the gym and music studio spaces.

 

 

 

We are keen to launch this project with the livery company’s support and to introduce it as a new project which can be identified as the work your fundraising is supporting. We would be keen to work alongside your team in developing the fundraising events you have in mind and seeing how our young people could be in some way represented/involved with them.

 

Obviously one concern for a project like this is looking at sustainability and how we can ensure the work continues beyond the first year so we are keen to keep developing our social enterprises and to discuss anyways the company could continue supporting the project or put aside some of the funding with a longer term perspective.

 

City Gateway website: http://www.citygateway.org.uk

 

 Jan 2011- recent Ofstead report on City Gateway: http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/oxedu_providers/full/(urn)/58841