Today (8 January), we announce the five winning projects that will receive funding from the sixth Brent Cross Town Community Fund. They have been chosen by a public vote.

The Fund was created by Related Argent in partnership with Barnet Council and had a total of £50,000 available. This year, the fund had a special focus on helping local charities and organisations provide and connect local people with employment, education, training and skills opportunities.
The successful applications and their projects are as follows:

• Barnet Mencap: This group helps people with learning disabilities into employment, and those who need further education. They also offer help with writing CVs and preparing for interviews. They will use their funding to employ a facilitator for a year and purchase two more laptops, educational materials and refreshments.
• Pro Touch: An organisation that offers unemployed over-16s the opportunity to complete youth work and sports qualifications, volunteering as well as CV-writing skills enabling them to find work. They will use their funding to train and mentor 12 young people. Those young people will support or coach 60 young people in a sports project.
• The Art Café by We Restart: The Art Café addresses the urgent need for skills development and employment readiness for asylum seekers residing in the Brent Cross area. The group offers weekly workshops focused on art, English language proficiency and British culture, helping participants gain practical skills, build confidence, and enhance their employability. They will use their funding to offer 22 weeks of The Art Café to 30 adults in and around Brent Cross.
• Art Against Knives: The Lab Records is a weekly pop-up recording studio which provides young people with the space to write, record and produce their own music and socialise in a safe and creative environment. The staff are also specialists in youth violence who provide mentoring and personal development support. They will use their funding to offer 30 young people skills training and pathways into education, training and employment.
• Motivez: A community and youth-led organisation that aims to address both pollution levels in Barnet and socio-economic barriers to STEM careers. They will use their funding to run a three-month project that will build relationships between STEM professionals and 300 ambitious young people who are disproportionately affected by climate change in deprived London areas.

Barnet Council Cabinet Member for Culture, Leisure, Arts & Sports, and Cricklewood Ward Member, Councillor 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.”

Last year, residents had the opportunity to partially vote for their favourite projects. But this year, and for the first time ever, Barnet residents had the chance to vote for all the winning recipients through an online poll managed by the fundraising platform, ActionFunder. Voting also increased this year by 40%, with almost 1,400 votes casted.

The Brent Cross Town Community Fund started in 2019 and has since supported 52 small charities, community organisations and individuals working to make a positive impact in the local area and has awarded £180,000 to local projects. Find out more about previous projects that have benefited from Community Fund here.

Morwenna Hall, Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer at Related Argent, added: “We take great pride in supporting and empowering our local communities at Brent Cross Town. This is the Fund’s sixth consecutive year and we’re delighted to be able to allocate grants to five more organisations. As the new year begins, it is imperative that we recognise the significant skills gap that exists in London and across the UK and take strides towards bridging the gap identified in our local communities first. We are looking forward to seeing the incredible impact that these organisations will have.

Keep an eye out for further opportunities to get involved in building a new community space at Brent Cross Town here.