- Area:
- UK-wide
- Programme:
- Millennium Now
- Release date:
- 23 4 2013
Broadcast date: The Secret Millions, 8pm Sunday 28 April, Channel 4
Fashion expert and stylist Gok Wan, has designs on helping to support disadvantaged young people in London to develop employment skills through a new scheme. If successful the pilot project, to be featured in The Secret Millions, on Channel 4, could see an investment of £2 million of Lottery funding to expand it.
Gok has teamed up with Kids Company to help grow a pilot job skills training initiative for eight young people in London. He has been working with Kids Company, which had developed a two week project, and tasked him with inspiring young people to design and launch a new product which could be sold on the high street.
What the young people involved don’t know is that the project involving them is secretly being assessed by the Big Lottery Fund. If they are successful, they will help secure Kids Company £2 million to expand their project in London to help 115 young people for two years.
The project features in the final episode of the brand new TV series, The Secret Millions and airs at 8pm on Sunday 28 April 2013. The series sees the Big Lottery Fund (BIG) team up with Channel 4 to highlight radical ideas for tackling some of Britain’s big issues. The projects are secretly assessed by BIG and if successful they can turn their ideas into reality with a share of The Secret Millions £10 million funding pot, the largest amount ever handed out on a Channel 4 series.
Over the course of the pilot, the participating young people will receive specialist training designed to give them the necessary skills to develop a product from beginning to end as well as learn how to hold down a job whilst overcoming their own challenging situations. Gok worked closely with Camila Batamanghelidjh, Kids Company Chief Executive with Gok as artistic director and Camila monitoring the behaviour and mental condition of each individual so that aspects of the training could be adapted to help them achieve the best results.
Delaney who took part in the pilot project said: “Before I went on this course, every time I thought about doing anything I ended up thinking 'I can't'. After the course I learned that 'I can' and that the only thing in my way is me. This is the best thing I have ever done in my life.”
Lori-Jane who also participated said: “I loved working with Gok it was really good fun. I felt like I learned a lot from the experience too and it really helped me to grow up. I have been using the motto ‘Break the Chain’ every day ever since.”
Mike Theoudolou, Big Lottery Fund Committee Member, said: “It was inspiring to see the young people selling t-shirts on the high street that they themselves had designed. It was hard interacting with them without revealing why I was there, but I was very impressed with their sales and design skills.”
Camila Batmanghelidjh, Chief Executive of Kids Company said: “For some young people, their childhood has been about survival, as they have negotiated the repercussions of maltreatment. As young adults, the legacy can be one of despondency and hopelessness. To achieve, they need a thoughtful package of care which we hope to achieve through our bid to the Big Lottery Fund."
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 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 Watch again on 4oD.
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
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 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 Kids Company
Founded in 1996 by Camila Batmanghelidjh, Kids Company (registered charity no. 1068298) provides practical, emotional and education support to vulnerable children and young people. Many of the 36,000 they support have experienced multiple trauma and neglect and live in severe deprivation. Their work brings hope to incredibly courageous individuals and through unrelenting support they help them to lead rewarding and meaningful lives.
Kids Company’s services are delivered across six centres and 40 schools in deprived communities. They put in place wraparound care for deeply traumatised children and young people who are living on the margins of society and invisible to statutory services. Kids Company’s work ranges from providing clothing and food to therapeutic support, education, training and securing future employment.
• 87% Kids Company’s users face emotional and mental health difficulties
• 83% have sustained trauma
• 82% have problems with substance misuse
(Gaskell, 2008, Queen Mary, University of London).
In 2007 Kids Company was awarded the Liberty and JUSTICE Human Rights Award. In 2010 they were selected as a ‘Child Poverty Champion’ by the End Child Poverty project for their success in enabling children to achieve their full potential.
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