- Area:
- London
- Programme:
- Millennium Now
- Release date:
- 13 3 2013
Broadcast date: The Secret Millions, 8pm on Channel 4
London Youth will be beaming on Sunday evening (17 March 2013, C4, 8pm) as the nation discovers the enthusiasm and hard work that disadvantaged young people put in to learning new skills helping to refurbish derelict properties for social housing. But unknowingly they are also in the running for up to £2 million Lottery funding if the project succeeds.
The project, supported by Restoration Man, George Clarke, is the first to feature in the brand new TV series, The Secret Millions where the Big Lottery Fund (BIG) has joined forces with Channel 4 to back radical ideas tackling some of Britain’s big issues.
The five-part documentary series follows five Channel 4 faces as they work with charities on the frontline to develop new projects, meanwhile secretly trying to help secure up to £2 million of money from the Big Lottery Fund to turn their big idea into reality.
In 2011, Channel 4 teamed up with the Big Lottery Fund to ask the nation to decide which five themes were their priorities for funding during the current financial climate. The results were used by BIG to decide which five exciting and innovative projects across the UK could get a share of up to £10 million of Lottery money - the largest amount ever handed out on a Channel 4 series.
London Youth were followed by Channel 4 believing they were being filmed as part of a documentary to show first-hand the issues facing grassroots workers and the beneficiaries in need of help, whilst being supported by George Clarke who helped set up a trial-run of an innovative project conceived by the charity. In reality, it was all part of a secret bid to win millions of pounds of Lottery funding. Cameras followed the hard work, the emotional strains and the exhilarating moments as the charity, beneficiaries and George Clarke learned to work together providing support, a better future or a second chance to those most in need.
George Clarke worked with London Youth who had created the ground-breaking idea to bring together retired craftsmen and young people youth to refurbish derelict social housing, making them available for people on the housing waiting list. This bold idea not only helps develop skills that will help young people find jobs, but works to overcome the divides between the generations, and also makes houses available for those in need.
George begins his journey as a volunteer at a Knights Youth Centre but in order to keep the trial authentic, he wasn’t able to tell anyone about potential Lottery funding. With London Youth, he helped find young people willing to become apprentices and start work on a derelict property in the London Borough of Lambeth. They had just ten days to gut and refurbish the ground floor of the house and inspire the young people whilst they handled their own personal issues of gang violence and criminal records.
George’s secret mission with the Big Lottery Fund is revealed to the young people at a talk that they are expecting to be all about architecture held at Millbank Tower when he announces what has really been happening.
Rachel Penfold, aged 18, has just finished working on London Youth’s new skills sharing construction pilot programme. She said: “Until last year I didn’t really know what I wanted to do, I tried some hairdressing courses and jobs but I didn’t finish them. When I told my youth workers I had started a construction course which I liked a lot they recommended me for London Youth’s pilot project. I felt more excited about it because it made by my dream of being a female construction worker a lot more real.
“Our main task was to work on a site in a house in Brixton with George Clarke, TV presenter and architect. Me and the others learned so much from this about different trades like plumbing, carpentry, painting and decorating, plastering and electrics. The pilot gave me courage to do better things and as a result I am going to Swaziland for six weeks in the summer of 2013. It is one of the poorest African countries with some of the highest rates of HIV and AIDS. I’m going with a charity called Positive Women. The Tools4Life team that I will be part of will help ten Swazi women learn new skills in carpentry which they can then pass on to others and use to earn a living.”
Rosie Ferguson, Chief Executive of London Youth said: “We’re delighted to have had the chance to participate in this new series. Young people desperately want opportunities to learn new skills, and the chance to work with George Clarke and the team of mentors was a fantastic experience.”
Rajay Naik, Big Lottery Fund Board Member who secretly observed London Youth in action during the grant bidding process said: “Keeping my real role hidden was hard but it was all worth it to directly see the hard work and enthusiasm of the young people involved. It was also great to see experienced tradesmen mentoring the young people and sharing their knowledge, skills and experience. It proved to be a truly inspiring way of bring people together to learn from each other.”
“I hope that The Secret Millions experience will lead to a greater public awareness of such good causes and the opportunities there are for everyone to get involved.”
Channel 4’s Documentaries Commissioning Editor Emma Cooper said: “It has been fantastic to watch Channel 4 talent get behind these amazing causes. In such austere times these projects are making a real difference to people in the most far-reaching ways. We are proud to have been involved and this series highlights just how important it is to support ideas for successful, sustainable and social enterprises.”
Over the series, five projects will work with an enthusiastic and experienced team of Channel 4 experts – Gok Wan, Katie Piper, Jimmy Doherty, Dave Fishwick and George Clarke. www.channel4.com/secretmillions
The 5 x 60m series is produced by RDF Television (a Zodiak Media company) and Twenty Twenty (a Shed Media company). The executive producers are Tayte Simpson (RDF Television) and Meredith Chambers (Twenty Twenty).
Channel 4 for The Secret Millions: Cécile Quinney: 020 7306 1095 or cquinney@channel4.co.uk
London Youth: Shivangee Patel: 020 7549 8800 / 077366 19606 shivangee.patel@londonyouth.org.uk or Jim Minton 020 7549 8800 or jim.minton@londonyouth.org.uk
Big Lottery Fund Press Office: 020 7211 1888
Out of hours media contact: 07867 500 572
Full details of the Big Lottery Fund programmes and grant awards are available on the website: www.biglotteryfund.org.uk
Ask BIG a question here: https://ask.biglotteryfund.org.uk
Follow BIG on Twitter: www.twitter.com/BigLotteryFund #BIGlf
Find BIG on facebook: www.facebook.com/BigLotteryFund
Notes to Editors
About the £10 million from the Big Lottery Fund
As part of the Big Lottery Fund making the £10 million available, the public was given a say on which issues they wanted to see funded. Launching a call-out in 2011, Channel 4 and the Big Lottery Fund asked people how they would spend £10 million of Lottery money in the current climate – via channel4.com/thebigdecision and commissioning a UK-wide Ipsos-Mori Poll of 2000 people. The results helped the Big Lottery Fund identify five charities who had devised exciting and innovative projects.
About Millennium Now – The Big Lottery Fund (BIG)
The Millennium Now programme, builds on the findings of BIG’s Millennium Now report launched in May 2011 to mark the legacy of the Millennium projects ten years on. It aims to fund inspirational projects reflecting the five Millennium themes:
• Encouraging Environmental Sustainability
• Investing in Education
• Places - tackling issues related to rural areas, urban or coastal areas
• Connecting Communities
• Promoting Science, Technology and Health
The five projects types chosen by BIG following the nationwide call-out October 2011 via Channel 4’s channel4.com/thebigdecision and Ipsos-Mori Poll were:
• Helping disadvantaged families to be healthy and live well.
• Helping different generations to share their skills with each other.
• Getting communities volunteering to address environmental issues.
• Bringing people together to tackle local issues.
• Helping disadvantaged young people to learn new career-based skills.
About the Big Lottery Fund (BIG)
• The Big Lottery Fund (BIG), the largest distributor of National Lottery good cause funding, is responsible for giving out 40% of the money raised for good causes by the National Lottery.
• BIG is committed to bringing real improvements to communities and the lives of people most in need and has been rolling out grants to health, education, environment and charitable causes across the UK. Since its inception in 2004 BIG has awarded close to £6bn.
• The Fund was formally established by Parliament on 1 December 2006.
• Since the National Lottery began in 1994, 28p from every pound spent by the public has gone to good causes. As a result, over £29 billion has now been raised and more than 383,000 grants awarded across arts, sport, heritage, charities, health, education and the environment.
This is the first time BIG has asked the public to help design and develop a grant programme from choosing the programme themes to the types of projects and beneficiaries they want funded.
About the London Youth
London Youth is a network of 400 community organisations serving 75,000 young people and their families in neighbourhoods across every London borough. We want everyone growing up in and around London to enjoy access to high quality youth work – structured, developmental activities, someone to talk to and a positive peer-group – all within a safe, stimulating and supportive environment.
London Youth’s mission is to help young people be the best they can be. Its vision is of a great world city in which every young person, whatever their background, is valued and challenged to do just that.
We do this in London through an ever evolving range of contemporary programmes covering youth action and youth leadership, sports development, employability, the environment, tackling youth crime, youth work training, the London Youth Quality Mark (our quality assurance scheme accredited by City & Guilds), and at our two outdoor residential centres, Woodrow High House and Hindleap Warren, which also host Activenture, our residential adventure weeks for young people with disabilities.
Full details of London Youth’s work can be found on the website: www.londonyouth.org
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