A boxing charity has received a huge cash boost from a London funder towards a long-term mentoring programme for ex-offenders looking to get their lives back on track.

The City of London Corporation’s charitable funder, City Bridge Trust, has given Battersea-based Carney’s Community a £69,600 grant towards a new programme to help change the lives of vulnerable young people through boxing.

The grant will support disadvantaged and excluded young offenders through boxing sessions and mentoring. The sessions will raise self-esteem, address the cause of offending and make an action plan to increase confidence and reduce re-offending rates.

Boxing sessions will be delivered for young people in Wandsworth at the charity’s base in Battersea, and Lambeth at the Fitzroy Lodge Boxing Club.

The charity was set up and inspired by the late Mick Carney MBE, a local community hero who turned around many lives through boxing.

Carney’s Community is a small local charity that uses a combination of boxing and mentoring support to help disadvantaged young people to move away from offending, anti-social behaviour and child poverty. It was set up to help get vulnerable young people off the street and away from criminal activity by giving them skills, discipline and self-respect.

Alison Gowman, Chairman of the City of London Corporation’s City Bridge Trust committee, said:

“The charity has a great track record of supporting at-risk young people through boxing and breaking the cycle of re-offending.

“Carney’s Community has already transformed the lives of many Londoners. Our funding will help them to support even more vulnerable young people through boxing, giving them opportunities to get away from a life of crime by boosting their skills and self-respect.

“City Bridge Trust is committed to tackling disadvantage across the capital and making London a fairer and better place to live.”

George Turner, co-founder and CEO of Carney’s Community, added:

“Since moving into a new space three years ago our numbers have grown quickly and it has been difficult to meet the demand, which is why we were so pleased to hear that City Bridge Trust have agreed to fund part of our program for the next three years.

“Some of our participants come from horrific backgrounds and have not had the same opportunities as many others. It is only through funders like City Bridge Trust that we are able to impact on some of the most troubled, so we are incredibly grateful, as are our participants.

“It opens up access to new opportunities that help young people from troubled, disadvantaged backgrounds to be the best they can be.”

City Bridge Trust is London’s largest independent grant giver, making grants of £20 million a year to tackle disadvantage across the capital. The Trust has awarded around 7,600 grants totalling over £360 million since it first began in 1995. It helps achieve the Corporation’s aim of changing the lives of hundreds of thousands of Londoners.

ENDS

Media Enquiries

Kristina Drake

Media Officer, City of London Corporation

Kristina.Drake@cityoflondon.gov.uk

07710860884 / 020 7332 1125