Year 8 students from Lister School at Mile End Adventure Base Pic: Lister School

Thousands of pounds have been raised by East End charity Toynbee Hall for projects to improve confidence of local young people in Tower Hamlets.

The charity originally aimed to raise £22,000 for their Youth Action project, however, they surpassed this target by almost fifteen hundred pounds,  raising £23,435. 

The fundraising took place from November 27 to yesterday and was made possible by The Big Give Christmas Challenge, a platform for the public to discover charities and projects, whose philanthropic partners The Childhood Trust and St Jude’s doubled all donations, through a match funding campaign.   

David Allsey, Communications and Marketing Officer at Toynbee Hall explained how the money will provide young people with new opportunities: “The money we are raising here will help us work with local young people to shape their futures and the future of Tower Hamlets.  

In the first full year, 20 young people will go through our youth fellowship programme and they will support over 200 young people to volunteer on a community project, to improve the lives of people throughout the community.”   

Year 8 student from Lister School at Community Project in Mile End Pic: Lister School

The Youth Action project aims to increase confidence and community participation of local young people through a variety of opportunities such as: educational workshops on the social history of London’s East End, week-long summer school and art projects and award schemes.  

Over the past four years 250 young people have gained a level 2 accreditation in critical thinking through their projects.  Furthermore, 90% of the people who engaged with their youth work have reported increased confidence whilst 80% are more encouraged to become more engaged with their community.   

Despite beating their target, Toynbee Hall are not going to stop there, according to David Allsey: “The Big Give is a vital part of our fundraising work for the programme, which we will continue to seek grants and support from individuals and companies to enable project to reach its full potential.”  

Founded in 1884, Toynbee Hall original aims focussed on achieving social change, ideally creating a place for future leaders to live and work as volunteers in London’s East End so they could be brought face to face with the poverty and find practical solutions for them.  

Today, they focus on establishing solutions to poverty and bridging gaps between people of differing social and financial backgrounds.  Find out more here.

This project will continue Toynbee Hall’s long-standing youth work in East End London. You can still donate by sending a cheque to: Development Team, Toynbee Hall, 52 Old Castle Street, London, E1 7AJ.