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During school holidays many children and young people are left to fend for themselves, often scared, hungry and at risk of abuse or exploitation. Kids Company’s Safe Summer project provides emergency food, shelter and high-risk outreach workers to keep children safe when they have no-one else to turn to. Please help us keep a vulnerable child safe this summer by donating now at https://www. justgiving.com/KidsCompanySaferSummer/
Letter from Camila
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Success Stories
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Christmas Day
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The Mince Pie Project
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3D AMV toys
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Downing Street Christmas Party
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A Whole Lot of Love
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Kids Company Audits
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Royal Academy ‘Holding Up Childhood’ Exhibition
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Joan Woolard
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Young People attend a careers day at Buckingham Palace
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Damien Hirst’s Mickey Mouse spot painting
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Jamie Cullum Heart of Gold Concert
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John Lewis
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Folli Follie lends a helping heart to Kids Company
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SEE THE CHILD. CHANGE THE SYSTEM
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The Great Spring Clean Event with Carden Cunietti
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Limited edition Liberty soaps for Kids Company
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CENTRES : The Arches
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Treehouse
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Urban Academy
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Morgan Stanley Heart Yard
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Kids Venture
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Urban Wisdom
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Occupational Therapy
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Bristol
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Annie and Colour a Child’s Life
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Bring me a higher love: poem by Natalie Mitchell
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Inside an art workshop
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Overseas Challenges
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Meet the Staff
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Meet the Volunteers
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Thanks to...
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Isobel came to Kids Company over ten years ago as a severely undernourished little girl. Her biological parents were chronically addicted to drugs and her stepfather was in prison for murder. She was part of a group of young kids who supported each other in the neighbourhood when their carers went through drug withdrawal. When I visited her room, she had nothing, but she had folded her bed sheets perfectly, just to try and keep some order in a flat that looked like a desperate bomb site. So you can imagine our delight when she was given a leading role in a West End play this year. This would never have been possible without the extraordinary people who’ve helped us with donations and support over the years. In the autumn, she’s going to university and we will be preparing her for the transition throughout the summer. Alongside her today is a younger boy. Both his parents were killed in violent circumstances. When he arrived at Kids Company aged seven, he was in such deep shock that he had no recollection of what had happened. Gently, over the years, we have watched him face the painful truth he found to unbearable to contemplate. He works hard in his therapy and on his schoolwork. For children like him, the summer holidays are really painful as they watch other children go off on holiday with their families.Â
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Our team is getting ready to be a substitute family for children like him. We’re washing our sleeping bags and negotiating deals with farmers in the hope that we too can take our children on a summer holiday they can cherish. But, just as your children cost money, so do ours and they cost a little extra because on every trip we have to take our therapists, so that when the night terrors and the flashbacks invade, there is expertise alongside our love to restore equilibrium. So if you have dreams for your holidays, could you imagine some extra children in your planning? I don’t recommend your taking our bundles of joy away with you, but what I do beg of you is to send us some money so that we can keep our little treasures occupied, and less likely to hurl snooker balls into our eye sockets mid-tantrum! The reason that we quickly forget the practical and emotional injuries is that every day, a beautiful miracle unfolds as we watch these extraordinarily courageous and resolute children overcome obstacles and look to the future with tentative hope. Collectively, you are giving 36,000 children, young people and vulnerable adults the possibility to imagine a better future. I thought I would beg in French, for a bit of variety and to avoid boring you all with my repeated pleas: Veuillez venir à la recours de Kids Company, avec votre compassion, et votre argent! Camila Batmanghelidjh, Chief Executive
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Letter from Jo Young, Contracts & Quality Manager at the Kings College Hospital NHS Foundation:
“Dear Camila, I had not heard of Kids Company until I recruited Marilyn as an Assistant Clinical Technologist Apprentice in February last year. However, over the months I have become well aware of all of the support that Marilyn receives from Kids Company. She is an intelligent, hard working, pleasant young woman who is trying to better her situation. However given her personal circumstances, this would be near impossible if she did not have the support of Kids Company. We recently celebrated winning an award for our Apprentice Scheme, and I wanted to share that with you, as the young apprentices are as much the winners as the staff. Without their hard work, we would not have been able to prove our concept and win this award, and without the support of Kids Company Marilyn would not have been as successful as she has been. Many thanks for all of the work you do for the young people in the area.�
Tamim has been with Kids Company since 2006, we have supported him and his family through the Schools Programme. He expressed a great interest in the theatre and decided to audition for the National Youth Theatre in February. He worked very hard, studying and rehearsing alongside his drama-expert keyworker Simeon Wallis. We heard the fantastic news this week that he got in, and will start straight away. All the hard work paid off, and we are ever so proud of him.
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Kids Company has been blessed with a fantastic relationship with Sherborne Girls, Sherborne Boys and Sherborne Prep School. The Prep School and Sherborne Girls have given free and lowcost places to three of our children, who are absolutely thriving because of the schools’ care. Students from the Girls School have volunteered regularly and fundraised for Kids Company and the Boys’ School donated to us the Kids Company Urban Academy, which has enabled many vulnerable young people to realise their abilities and go on to succeed in life. So thank you to the most amazing three schools.
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Kerys is 18 and has been with Kids Company for the past year. She has been inspired by the furniture-making workshop, and her attendance has been enthusiastic and 100% since it began in the spring. She told the course leader, Paul Waldmann, that “furniture making gives you a real sense of fulfillment and achievement�. Positive experiences and skill building exercises like this are a great source confidence and inspiration for the young people we work with. Most young people have parents to help them access courses and work experience, and stoke their interest in all sorts of fun activities and skills. We are privileged to provide this encouragement and open doors for our young people when they have no one else to do it.
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In February a group of our young people who were interested in plumbing as a potential career option went on a group visit to Pimlico Plumbers. Both Pimlico Plumbers and the young people were so impressed with each other that we set up a 5-day work placement for the young people over the Easter holidays. “A” really took to the work environment at Pimlico and turned up early for his 9am start every day of that week. He enjoyed it so much that he has now committed every Friday to Pimlico. Our key workers and youth advisors will continue to support both “A” and Pimlico to engage with this amazing opportunity.
‘“A” did an excellent job all last week and feedback from his supervisors was really good. He wanted some work experience and he turned out to be an excellent ambassador for Kids Co and the future relationship they will have with Pimlico. … Hopefully “A” will take all the advice he got last week on board and that will lead him to a very bright future.’ Charlie Mullins, CEO Pimlico Plumbers ‘I loved working at Pimlico Plumbers, they really liked me and gave me a uniform. Matt has arranged it so I can go back there on a regular thing, so I’m hoping to learn and do well for my future. I hope I can show them what I’ve got and hopefully get a job.’ “A”, aged 21 ‘“A” phoned me on the Friday before this experience explaining he was feeling ‘nervous and anxious’. He felt this way as he had struggled with the fact he has a criminal record that he felt he wouldn›t be taken seriously and that he probably wouldn’t go. I spoke to “A” and told him to try it, which he eventually agreed to do. When I spoke to him after he sounded like a different person and completely re-energised.‘ Matt, Youth Advisor, Kids Company 9
Alusine was a boy soldier. He was abandoned in Victoria Station in 2005. He was brought to Kids Company and we gave him a keyworker who provided emotional support; we paid his rent throughout university so that he could afford to be there; and we supported him with a weekly allowance so he could afford to live. Once he had graduated, a Kids Company mentor spent time advising Alusine on his career development, following which the charity funded Alusine’s post-graduate Teacher Training course. We are so proud of how far he has come, and delighted that some lucky children will get to flourish and grow with his fun and brilliant teaching skills! Letter from Alusine: “Dear Camila, Thank you so much for all your support throughout my time at Kids Company. It’s been such a journey working with people who has always hoped for the best of me at all times. Your team has always managed to find strength in me somewhere and that great courage from people who’s worked with me over the years has been the backbone in all my educational achievements so far. At present, I am working at Swanlea School as an Achievement Mentor of Secondary Mathematics having completed my Post Graduate Certificate in Education last year. I am now a qualified teacher and I am hoping to get started with my induction year this September. I have also been blessed with another child named after me. It’s amazing how much I feel independent as an adult now. Thank you so much for all your devoted time in reaching to people like us who would have had no chance to have achieved this much without your support. It takes a lot to see the best in children with little hope of success and turn them into an independent adult with a chance to become successful. My eyes are full with lots of tears as I’m writing this email to you, it’s been such a journey and I adore your courage and strength. I will always owe it all to Kids Company and would always love to be involved with other people at some point to give them the same support that was given to me. May God grant you the strength to continue the good work. Thank you so much.” 10
“SM” has been with Kids Company for 5 years. Aged 22 now, he is just completing a degree in Engineering at a London University. He came to us as he was suffering financial poverty and cultural exclusion, and Kids Company supported him through this. We saw his incredible potential, and when we organised an open day at Morgan Stanley three years ago “SM” attended alongside other Kids Company young people. Morgan Stanley were so impressed by them that we also arranged a mentoring scheme and work experience, in which SM participated and helped to shape. “SM” shined in the work experience. Kids Company mentored him over the next year, supporting him as he nurtured his own ability. He applied alongside his contemporaries for the Morgan Stanley Summer Internship scheme, for which he not only earned a place but scored in the top 90%. He subsequently applied for a position as a trader at Morgan Stanley, and was successful. He achieved his success through no positive discrimination and all of the merit is down to his intelligence, tenacity and charm. He has also participated on the subsequent Morgan Stanley mentoring programs of which he acts as both role model and facilitator for young people who began in a similar position to him.
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Christmas 2013 seems a lifetime ago and we have already started the planning for Christmas 2014! But it was such a sensational whirlwind of incredible generosity, teamwork, festive spirits, and joy for our children, young people and families that we can go no further without a proper round-up‌
Andrew Webster, Director of HR at AstraZeneca, and Christmas Veteran
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Gemma, aged 9
As the last smiling faces left our Christmas Day celebration we knew our holiday initiatives had been a success. In our winter wonderland at The Oval, over 4,000 children and families joined us to play games, dance to festive tunes and eat a proper Christmas feast. Mums were given a well-earned break, with facials and manicures on offer, while the kids went wild with excitement at the bouncy castle, giant Jenga, puppet making and dozens of other games. Beyond the walls of the Oval, we delivered emergency food parcels to 2,000 families across London and Bristol to see them through the festive season. An additional 4,550 received hand-picked present sacks, lovingly donated and wrapped by some 1,500 volunteers. Staff and volunteers worked around the clock in the run up to Christmas Day, to make sure that we could offer our kids some festive fun, and respite from the added challenges that so many of them suffer at this time of year.
The generosity we experienced this year – in donations of food and presents but also in the number of people offering long hours of their time – to help our staff pull off this enormous feat was simply phenomenal, and greater than in any previous year. Thank you so, so much to everyone who contributed to what has been described hands down as our ‘Best Christmas yet!’
Charlie, aged 9
Your generosity and support for Kids Company stretched far beyond our efforts at Christmas – we were blown away by the range and sheer creativity of the projects that raised money for our children this year.
“It was our absolute pleasure (to volunteer over Christmas) We had such fun. I hope the banners I made stood the test of time on the day!” Graham Lindsey, Director of Responsible Business at Lloyds, and master tailor
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The creative agency AMVBBDO came up with a plan to try and combat the misery deprived children feel at Christmas as the shops fill up with toys they could never dream of having. They opened a shop on Great Windmill Street where people could text a donation to Kids Company and watch a toy made with a 3D printer. The state-of-theart equipment – kindly lent to us by Ultimaker – was awe inspiring. But nowhere near as awe inspiring as the hundreds of you who kindly texted to donate – thank you so much on behalf of the children who benefitted from your contribution, and received a magical 3D printed toy on Christmas Day. We would like to send an enormous thank you to AMVBBDO for their wonderful concept and the space on Great Windmill Street – we love you!
The spectacularly creative team at the Mince Pie Project has been raising money to fight child poverty since 2011, auctioning mouth-watering mince pies made by some of the UK’s top chefs. We are so grateful to them for choosing to support Kids Company last Christmas – they raised a simply delicious £13,137.27! www.themincepieproject.com/
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We adore Samantha Cameron. On the invitation of the Prime Minister a group of Kids Company young people set off to Number 10 Downing Street for the Prime Minister’s annual Christmas party. Sam Cam spent the afternoon chatting with the children who played lots of games, and enjoyed arts and crafts and some fantastic dancing. Father Christmas also made an appearance – and gave each child a bag of presents – as did some of his reindeer, who were parked in the courtyard of Number 10!
In collective acts of extraordinary compassion and generosity, led by the wonderful employees of Whole Foods Market, customers of the renowned food stores raised £28,000 in December towards our Christmas Food Parcels and Christmas Day. This was all raised by the cashier staff, who told customers about Kids Company and gave them a chance to donate at the till point. Camila went to meet Kabir Shashi, the cashier who raised the most money at his till, and presented him with an award. Thank you so much to each one of you for campaigning for and donating to Kids Company, your contribution to Christmas was felt by thousands of children.
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The Cabinet Office commissioned two independent audits of Kids Company this year, and we have just received the results.
carried out a review on our accountability and interventions, which verified our results in relation to outputs and outcomes for children and young people. They said: “ On the basis of the data examined and information received we are wholly satisfied that the Kids Company Report is an accurate representation of the data collected by key-workers in each of the centres where children and young adults are being actively supported. Furthermore, we believe that the Kids Company report accurately describes the extent and nature of the many different interventions being offered to the cohort and is indicative of the benefits arising. We can confirm that not only are Kids Company meeting the specified numbers of clients and interventions, in some cases they are achieving three or four times the number of target interventions.� We are delighted that our work is being recognised in such a positive way by the auditors. Now if we could secure our funding Camila could finally go on holiday!
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carried out a review of the governance systems and financial controls at Kids Company and they reported that:
Policies & procedures
There are comprehensive policies and procedures at the Charity. Some minor recommendations for system improvement have been identified.
Governance
The governance system in place at the Charity appears to be appropriate for its size and complexity. We have no recommendations to make in terms of improvements to the governance systems and risk assessment process.
Management accounting
There is regular reporting of performance to Trustees through the Board and Finance Committee. Recommendations have been made to further improve the information provided.
Purchasing & procurement
Procedures for purchasing are followed and no significant issues were identified.
Payroll
There are no significant weaknesses in the payroll system, only minor improvements have been recommended.
Financial systems
Given the wide range of income and expenditure there are reasonable controls over the systems capturing and reporting income and expenditure. We have made recommendations to strengthen controls.
Forecasting
Both strategy and business planning are appropriately managed.
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The Royal Academy of Arts once again welcomed Kids Company young people and children for a stunning collaboration, in hosting the ‘Holding Up Childhood’ Exhibition. Through a series of workshops, at schools and in Kids Company centres, budding young artists produced a haunting and profound exhibition. The centrepiece of a huge carousel representing visually the relentless struggle they face each day to support themselves through their childhood in the absence of loving and responsible adults. The result was spectacular, and we are forever grateful to our friends at the Royal Academy for their continued support and belief in us.
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Thank you so much, on behalf of all the children, for giving them a platform from which to express themselves. We love you! Beth B. Schneider, Head of Learning at the RA, said: ‘The RA shares with Kids Company a belief in the value of engaging children in the practice of art through handson, creative experiences. We know that the arts are a powerful tool in helping young people express themselves and develop a stronger sense of self. The RA is delighted to be working with Kids Company and is committed to a long-term partnership that allows children and young people to have a safe place in which to create art.’
Two years ago, pottering around her home in Fleet Hargate, rural Lincolnshire, Joan Woolard dipped in and out of a programme on BBC Radio 4. Camila Batmanghelidjh had just told the host that one in three of the children Kids Company looks after don’t have a bed to sleep in, and Joan decided there and then that she would help, however she could. Having long been interested in the work of Kids Company, Joan took unprecedented and incredible action. First she thought to hand over the deeds to her home, and did so when she popped into Head Office last year! But this proved
very complicated, so Joan instead put her house on the market and, ‘nothing short of miraculously’, it was snapped up within the day! The money Joan raised in selling her house will make an incredible difference to the lives of the children and young people who turn to Kids Company for support. Joan was able to move into a lovely bungalow around the corner from her old home, and continues her work running ‘Here 4 U’, a support network for people living with dementia, and their carers. Joan’s grown-up children think that their mum is amazing – and now all at Kids Company certainly do so too! 19
Every year Buckingham Palace opens its doors for a fun and insightful careers day. This year, while the wind was still chilly and the daffodils were yet to pop up, some of our young people wrapped up warm and went along to explore their career options, and came home triumphant.
“I felt a flash of excitement as we stepped through the well-varnished gates and onto gravel so perfectly placed. Through the Grand Arch – thank you guards! As I stepped into the first annex, beautiful paintings and ornaments were polished to perfection. Tea was being served in bone china. What a morning and it’s only just begun. We were brought through the annexe to the Main Hall where tables were set up for our possible futures. As I wandered around I was delighted to find that everyone loved their job within the palace as they said it felt like a community. When I found the catering section, I began to talk to the chefs and I found that the Queen puts a lot of effort into the menus for her guests and that the food is well-sourced and well-made – their handmade chocolates, gorgeous! I was given advice from every department and encouraged to always try everything and gain experience. What an amazing morning, with a possible job at the end of it. I learned so much from so little in such a big place! Kids Company continues to help me in amazing ways every day, my dream of making a cake for the Queen might just possibly come true.”
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On Thursday 13 February, Damien Hirst demonstrated again that his artistic talent is rivalled only by his phenomenal humanitarian capacity. Damien’s interpretation of the iconic Disney character Mickey Mouse was the first lot to be auctioned at Christie’s heralded Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening Auction and it sold for a staggering £904,000. All proceeds – including Christie’s fees – have been donated to Kids Company. Prior to the auction, The Walt Disney Company EMEA hosted a fabulous morning of fun for children, who feasted on Mickey Mouse-shaped jam sandwiches and received a lesson in how to draw the famous mouse from the official Mickey Mouse animator. The children were able to size up their drawings to the real thing when Mickey himself turned up to say hello! Carlotta Saltini, Vice President, Marketing, Mickey Mouse and Friends, for The Walt Disney Company EMEA says: ‘Damien Hirst’s ‘Mickey’ painting is a great example of a modern, innovative and creative interpretation of the world’s most famous mouse whose neverending appeal spans across generations of audiences. We’re also thrilled that this collaboration will benefit vulnerable children and young people.’ 22
Damien Hirst comments,
Thank you so much to the wonderful team at The Walt Disney Company EMEA for everything they did in the runup to the auction, and to Damien Hirst and his team at Science Ltd for once again being such an amazing friend to Kids Company. And a huge thank you to Christie’s for waiving their fee for the auction sale, and for playing perfect hosts to our Mickey Mouse morning.
On 6 March, The Gig Company hosted a wonderful fundraising event in aid of Kids Company. Guests arrived at Porchester Hall in sparkling gowns and black tie to enjoy a delicious meal and take part in a silent and live charity auction. When the final bids were in, the evening moved into a series of dazzling musical performances from a feast of home-grown British talent, including the beautiful Laura Mvula and Elli Ingram, and Kids Company’s heartthrob Jamie Cullum who finished off the night with a rock n’ roll bang! The night raised a fabulous £100,000 for Kids Company, and we would like to say a huge and special thank you to Jamie Cullum and Sophie Dahl for their tireless support and love, and to The Gig Company for running the night with such style! Thank you also to Laura, Natalie and everyone else who contributed to the musical treats of the evening.
Also singing that night was Natalie Mitchell, tes whose journey with Kids Company encapsula teen A for. strive staff pany what all Kids Com single parent of two, Natalie has overcome great hurdles with the support of Kids Company and is now studying Medicine. To hear somebody say that she has come from ‘darkness to light’ through the work of Kids Company is something we can all cherish.
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Following the success of the partnership between John Lewis and the young budding designers at Kids Company, we are now incredibly lucky to have teamed up again on a beautiful range of spring wear for children. Designed by children for children, this range of t-shirts and tote bags looks to the future to see the world they would like to live in. It’s a celebration of the beauty of nature and the environment as well as a life lived alongside monsters! The inner-city school children who took part in creating the motifs chose tropical animals as the most important creatures to protect (as represented in the Parrot Tee) and they have even designed a t-shirt to encourage healthy eating! Wanting to care for all creatures, friendly monsters also feature in their ideal future which can be found on the Monster Stack Tee and the Monster Onesie.
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In November 2012, the luxury jewellery brand Folli Follie launched a gorgeous range of Kids Company inspired jewellery with 25% of sales donated to our kids. The collection so far has raised an incredible ÂŁ10,000! And to celebrate this fabulous milestone they have added a new bracelet to the line. The Kids Company pink rope design Heart4Heart Bracelet Exclusive is on sale in all Folli Follie stores and concessions across the UK. Thank you Folli Follie, your designs are wonderful! We are so grateful to you for everything you have done for us.
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On Tuesday 24th June, Kids Company launched its campaign ‘SEE THE CHILD. CHANGE THE SYSTEM’ in a conference at Head Office held by Camila Batmanghelidjh and Sir Keir Starmer, former Director of Public Prosecutions. The campaign is the culmination of research carried out by the Centre for Social Justice into children’s services, and needs your help to demand that the current system, which repeatedly fails vulnerable children, be changed and made to work. For too long, too many children have endured maltreatment and been denied appropriate help. The truth is that for decades there has been no genuine political will or leadership to change the system. When a child dies, or groups of children are sexually abused, there is always a call for ‘A Public Inquiry’. They recommend improvements within current structures, and often attribute blame to individual workers without acknowledging that fundamentally the delivery of care to vulnerable children in Britain is not fit for purpose. Over the years professionals across child mental health and children’s social services, who’ve trusted Kids Company, have raised concerns, describing their agencies as being unable to protect and treat children because demand is outweighing resources and forcing professionals into unethical practices. The time has come to tackle the apathy that has led to children and workers feeling depleted and humiliated when both are yearning for reparation. But one group of professionals acting alone will never change the system; what is needed is for all involved, all who care, to come together, as politicians react to public pressure. Vulnerable children deserve their courage to be matched by society’s courage to dream the best reparation for them.
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Elements of the Campaign 1. Independent Research: The Centre for Social Justice’s report, published on 23rd June 2014, is a frank, undiluted, evidence-based, rigorously researched narrative of the depth and nature of the challenges that prevent children’s access to mental health and child protection interventions. 2. Public Support: Our campaign is designed to plead with the public to bear witness to what is happening, and demand that all stakeholders and political parties come together to change the system. You, the public, can send a text saying “I SEE” to 63000 (standard network rate, no donation) or to sign the petition online via the website seethechild.org, where supporters can sign up for campaign updates and more information about the campaign. People who send a text will receive a response text with a link to the campaign website so they can do the same. 3. The formation of an independent task force of the best minds and experts in the country. 4. This Children’s Task force will conceptualise a comprehensive child protection and child wellbeing delivery model to trial at local authority level, within approximately 18 months. 5. Piloting the model in one or two Local Authorities in England and Wales. 6. On successful completion of the pilot, our goal is to replicate the model nationally.
“The girl’s voice has been taken from her” - Artwork by a Kids Company Young Person
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What Can You Do?
Left: “The girl can only feel safe with wolves, even though wolves are not safe” Right: “The girl summons a dragon to protect her and her Mum from her abusive Dad”
Vote for change Text “I SEE” to 63000 or sign the petition at seethechild.org. Engage your contacts Share the campaign with all your personal and professional contacts. Ask them to sign the petition and share it with their networks. Our website also provides a toolkit for supporters, including flyers and posters you can circulate.
- Artwork by a Kids Company Young Person
Engage on social media Follow @SeetheChild on Twitter and Instagram as well as the Kids Company accounts on Facebook, Google+, Instagram and Twitter and ask your networks to do the same. Post a picture of yourself as a child on Facebook or Twitter, accompanied with a status or tweet about the campaign using the hashtag #seethechild. Encourage friends to do the same. Continue to post about the campaign. Example tweets will be available on the website. Share our campaign videos (also available on the website). Long term actions Supporters will have the option of more actively engaging in the campaign, to show their local MP that children’s services is a voting issue. Ideas and materials will be available on the website soon. Thank You! 28
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The glorious Interior Design company Carden Cunietti hosted a pop-up designer furniture and furnishings sale, and donated the proceeds to Kids Company. Audrey and Eleanora, the founders and creative directors of Carden Cunietti, are true heroines – they have spent their award-winning careers creating beautiful luxuryliving environments, and now they are looking to our children, who face terrible challenges and devastating trauma in their own homes. On behalf of the kids, we are so grateful to them. The event took place in Shoreditch over a fabulous weekend in June. Kids Company was delighted to attend a star studded opening, where the guests were thrilled with their beautiful purchases and inspired by the amazing generosity and vision of Audrey and Eleanora.
Liberty is a long-standing and much loved friend of the Kids Company children, and this is the latest in a line of countless generous acts the iconic store has made on their behalf... They have given a makeover to some of their famous signature soaps with beautiful limited edition packaging designed by our kids. These gorgeous soaps are available in range of delicious spring scents – you can buy them in-store or online now. All profits come directly to Kids Company! 30
The Evening Club is a service provision for young people aged between 14 and 23. We hold it on weekdays between 7 and 10pm, after Club Time for the younger kids. It’s a nurturing and safe space for our young people, and we have a strong gang prevention focus. The majority of the young people who attend Evening Club come to us through word of mouth. At present 220 young people are on our books on a regular basis (approximately 70% male and 30% female) – between 45 and 70 of them come along every evening. We run a range of activities, focusing on education, with the CV and Job Club, and have a weekly visit from our inhouse Positive Experiences team, who assist the young people with college, university and job applications. Now
and then we welcome a guest to tell the young people about their own life experiences and successful business ventures, and it’s a great chance to ask questions and broaden horizons. There is also a music studio, which is hugely popular and a fantastic outlet for self expression and collaborative group work. Then there are the artbased projects, like photography, fashion design, t-shirt printing, and sports – boxing, table tennis and off-site gym and football. We have a hot meal prepared by our chef every evening who the young people warmly refer to as ‘mummy’. The staff join the young people during the meal and discuss the day’s event. This is one of the features of the evening club which is extremely powerful in forming bonds; it mirrors a healthy family environment.
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Life has been flourishing at the Treehouse since the last newsletter, Christmas was one big colourful burst of creativity and music! We celebrated in seriously glamorous style with a screening of three home-made Treehouse Productions films, shown at the Tricycle Theatre in Kilburn. The pièce de resistance was our re-recording of Michael Jackson’s infamous Thriller video, which we gave a personal touch and even featured a cameo from our very own ‘Camila’! Suffice to say it brought the house down!
We were so busy in the run up to Christmas at the end of last year, we didn’t have a chance to share our Ofsted inspection from October 2013 with you. Our kids really impressed them! “Children are developing confidence and a positive selfesteem as staff are effective in acknowledging their individual achievements. This in turn helps children to value both their own efforts and those of friends.” “Children have strong bonds with their key person and this promotes their personal, emotional and social development well.” “Staff are duly focused on children’s welfare. There are robust procedures in place to work in partnership with parents and outside professionals to help ensure children’s wellbeing is prioritised.”
“It is evident that children feel safe and secure in their relationships as they talk openly about their feelings, which include positive feedback about the care they receive.” Children’s comments include: “It’s great here I can do so many things. I love to do art activities and cooking and skateboarding.” Parents comments include: “Staff are brilliant at supporting children’s interests. It is a very inclusive setting where all children are valued for who they are”. “My child was very difficult to manage, he wouldn’t listen or follow any instruction. Now it is like having a different child, the staff have helped me to build a relationship with my child. I am so grateful”.’
We were denied “Outstanding” by Ofsted because we don’t let the children serve the food at lunch time. Someone should tell Ofsted that disturbed children throw food at you, rather than serve it! 32 32
And in more recent news, the Treehouse Tipi Adventure was a blast (despite the rain)! One little boy was proud to tell his mum when we knocked on his door to drop him home that he “ate nettles”. We also canoed down the river, cooked over a fire (with some help from the kids) and played a hilarious game of Charades. Thank you so much to everyone who helped to make it happen.
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We’ve been teaching and studying hard, and in June 16 of our young people sat their English language GCSE, 18 of them sat Maths GCSE, and 5 sat Religious Education. At present the Urban Academy is supporting 242 young people through their studies – 131 of them study at UA and the other 111 are in other colleges or with training providers who we support, both practically and financially. We’ve set up new Music, Digital Design and Film courses this year to create a youth-led, in-house media company. It operates along the lines of a professional production house. With so many of our young people showing great musical and artistic talent, we really see the value of providing this kind of experience when internships in the industry are so hard to come by. Activities are supported by external professional tutors – music publishers, graphic design agencies and film production companies. They are the best mentors we could ask for, and we are so grateful to them. Their input to the young people’s portfolios, and their aspirations, is invaluable.
- Prichard Mhlanga aged 18 -
We’ve been getting out and about, too. The Media and Film & Video students filmed the exhibition ‘Holding Up Childhood’ at the Royal Academy and edited the footage into a short clip, with the music contributed by Jamie Kelly – you can watch the video here: Holding Up Childhood Video. Some students made the trip to the WME music agency, and also to the Radio Training Arts Award workshop at BBC 1xtra, which filled them with inspiration.
– Sian Richards, age 21 -
Now our young people are enjoying a well-deserved summer break!
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Life and community continue to flourish at the Morgan Stanley Heart Yard. Spring has sprung, and with it myriad new activities, groups and workshops for our clients and young mums, complementing the range of therapies we provide. The week starts with a rejuvenating morning yoga session to get everybody in tune and feeling fresh for the week ahead. Then we welcome some of our young mothers to the Parents Who Play workshop. They bring their babies and learn valuable parenting and bonding techniques. Many of these young women are raising their children with little or no help, and these sessions provide crucial therapeutic and confidence-building time, to escape from the daily struggle and learn the value of having fun with and enjoying their children. Cooking and eating as a group can often be the key to a stable and happy family environment, and with this in mind we run a growing number of sessions focusing on this idea. On Tuesdays we have a weekly brunch date, offering a chance for Heart Yard clients to meet each other and the staff informally over delicious food prepared and cooked together. Young people, mothers and pre-school children are welcome as an opportunity to mingle, chat, play and eat together in a familial atmosphere.
Since opening its doors last November (after a great colour-burst makeover from the workaholic Kids Company team), the Kids Venture centre in Loughborough Junction has been spreading its warm message through the local community and it is a glorious and growing environment for children, young people and families in need of support. Kids Venture was conceived in partnership between Lambeth Council and Kids Company to inject some love and fun into the lives of our children through a variety of activities, workshops, therapeutic facilities and the guidance of inspiring role models. Thanks to our marvellous staff and the work and support of dozens of truly incredible volunteers, who worked tirelessly to bring Kids Venture to life, the centre is already running all sorts of activities, from Strengthening Families groups, Early Language, and arts and drama classes – to Nature Detectives, Carpentry, and the Forest School Group, which take place in our awesome wild adventure garden!
True to form, Urban Wisdom has been busy since the New Year! We were invited to speak at the Government Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) conference to an audience of policy-makers and civil servants about their views on ‘NEETs’ (young people not in education, employment or training). The presentation included the importance of confidence and preparation so that young people are able to seek out and go after opportunities. Our Urban Wisdom rep reported, ‘I met Mark Fisher [the Social Justice Director] who was a fantastic guy, cool as a cucumber. Before I went on stage my heart was beating like drums, but once I got up there and started talking it disappeared.
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The audience were very engaged and found me afterwards to congratulate me on the talk and ask questions. I was on a real high after that!’ Urban Wisdom has an ongoing relationship with the DWP, where they will run focus groups together to help develop key policy themes and shape services for young people. Urban Wisdom are planning an interactive educational event with the organisation Guerilla Science to engage young people in learning about how their brains work. We also continue to work with the Social Research Unit at Dartington, contributing their experiences and perspectives to their research on relationships.
The placement was challenging in terms of caseload but the level of support, the feeling of being valued and the learning experience was the best I have experienced. I am so grateful for this placement and all the help and support offered and given from my educator. Kids Company is a wonderful and inspiring company.
The support was outstanding it was fluent and helped me really develop my skills. Easily the best that ive had on a placement.
The pupils I saw were struggling and the school were unable to address their needs. If I had not seen them, they may still be struggling. Although I was an extra at school, my work was appreciated by families, pupils and the school.
Kids Company is the biggest employer of UK psychotherapists outside the NHS. We have a programme offering trainee therapists, allied health professionals, and social workers, as well as educationalists, the opportunity to do their work experience with us as part of their training. Currently, there are just under 400 students benefiting and contributing to the organisation. Our team work hard to give them a quality training and, in return, we cherish their appreciation.
Amazing, amazing, fab, brilliant. Thank you for the opportunity it has been a great learning experience and so great getting to work with the kids.
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Incredible organisation that understands client staff connection and 100% cares for its client group.It does what needs to be done with the resources it can find. A very impressive and wonderful organisation.
ed I lov ment! e plac my
Kids Co are very well set up to accommodate students. I was very well supported. I met othe r students just finishing their placeme nt, which was great. I spent time at their day cen tres for kids, and experienced the Kids Co ethos. By interviewing me before agreeing to having me for a placement, the educator Helen was able to accommodate my travel needs, and match my experiences up to a suitable school. I think this was invaluable as for me, it ensured a successful placement. 39
“M” was one of the first young people to be introduced to Bristol Kids Company. His parents abandoned him when he was a small child and he has struggled to relate to others, including foster carers, in a positive way ever since, suffering from rage and bewilderment. However, he has bravely worked on his problems while in the care of Kids Company. “M” has found a group of people here who have stayed with him and showed their love for him no matter how he expressed himself. He has found this experience un-nerving sometimes and needed to try to break the relationships. But we stuck by him and just a few weeks ago, “M” performed some of his rap to a lively crowd at the St Paul’s Festival in Bristol on the Kids Company stage. He is showing consistent commitment, taking positive risks and building happy memories, which we are so delighted and proud to share with him.
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One of our young students was treated to a once in a lifetime experience. “K”’s keyworker Scott Bryant had introduced him to music by the band Arcade Fire, and he became a big fan. Imagine his surprise and delight when Scott managed to obtain two tickets for their gig in Hyde Park at the beginning of July! He had an absolutely fantastic time and was treated like royalty. They also stopped to visit the Porsche garage on Park Lane and “K” was allowed to sit in all of the cars. The little boy returned home to Bristol tired but very happy.
One of the young lads at our adolescent education unit, South Wood, has been accepted on a carpentry course at the City of Bristol College. “L” was completely disengaged from his school, was a consistent non-attendee and when he did attend, would cause havoc within the centres he attended. “L” has been with us for three years and through careful nurturing and constant commitment from his keyworkers his confidence and self-esteem has grown and he is now determined to pave a positive future for himself. He took an interest in carpentry and is gradually blossoming into a mature and confident young man. “My plan is to be able to build my own house one day”. “L”, aged 16
It is the most heart warming thing to see young children who have only known a happy and secure home life show understanding and compassion to other children for the hardships that they face every day. We witnessed an example of this recently when a child of only seven donated one of his most treasured possessions to our children at the Tree Tops centre, our alternative education provision for 7 to 11-yearolds. Jozef Keller-Yule took Kids Company children into his heart and gave away his adventure playground. Volunteers from Lloyds Bank in Bristol kindly donated a day of their time to erect the playground, which as you can see looks amazing. Thanks to Jozef’s huge compassion, the children in Tree Tops have somewhere to play out their adventures.
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Annie is one of Kids Company’s veteran young people, and she has worked on our Colour a Child’s Life programme for the past four years. When we find our young people living in rotten, decrepit houses Annie goes round - often with groups of volunteers - and armed with industrial cleaning products, paint, new carpets, beds and furniture they get to work turning desperate places into bright, safe homes for our children and their families. Before
After
But Annie is not just a wizard in D.I.Y., she is also a true artist and every so often she delights Camila with her bright and brilliant paintings. Some of them she sends to our donors as a thank you for their kindness. But some of them are just so beautiful, Camila can’t bear to be parted from them and her office is filled with Annie’s glorious animal tables, boxes and pictures. We love you Annie!
Crushed gold and joy sent From above Velvet and silk Cover my heart Glowing softly In the dark Angels of peace And hope come to me Visions of joy stitched To my soul like Orbs in the sky Flying low Flying high I Cast a spell of peace on u I pray for life In what u do Waters of Nazareth I summon u Wash my pain Like the rain Golden stars Guide me through Take me home Back to u Silver moon Glowing bright Bring the balance To the night
Sun of life shine down on Me heating like a remedy I cast a spell of peace on earth Iron cast break your mould Show the world what u do hold Angels of beauty hope and trust Never wicked only love Bring me a higher love Sent from the heavens In the Sky’s above.
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Every Wednesday Alpha, Bradley, Darren, Jasmine, Jill, Ola, Rodion, Thamima and Umut go to Art Club after school. Dressed in green ponchos to avoid any paint splodges on their school uniforms, this group of talented artists in years 4 to 6 let their creativity loose under the loving eye of art therapist and Kids Company staff member Rhian Davis. The art programme has been running since 2012 at Orchard Primary School, and is part of the larger Kids Company Schools Programme. On the day of our visit the artists were making sailing boats, each one as unique and vibrant as the child who designed it, in preparation for their visit to the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich for the ‘Turner and the Sea’ exhibition, with the gallery very kindly offering the group free tickets. This isn’t their first gallery expedition – the Lichtenstein exhibition at the Tate Modern was a highlight for Darren, who remembers, ‘It was really cool. They gave us badges saying ‘future artist’ on them!’ They came back and made their own fabulous, canny interpretations of the American artist’s work. For an hour this afternoon, paint and chatter bounces off the classroom walls. When we told them they were going to be in the newsletter, the children shrieked, ‘Cool! Will David Cameron read it? Maybe he’ll send us doughnuts!’ As quickly as it has begun, the class is over for another week. But for these children, this freedom of expression and the celebration of their artistic talent will benefit them for years to come.
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‘Art Club is so amazing my head explodes from the fun!’ Rodion, year 4
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Overseas Challenges 2013 was a fantastic and record-breaking year for our overseas challengers, culminating in the annual Arctic Biathlon – two weekends of gruelling team challenges in temperatures of -42°C. Less for the faint hearted, more for the totally bonkers! Despite the bitter conditions, the teams were unbelievably warm hearted and determined to see it through, and their resilience and positive attitude earned Kids Company a total of £70,000 – the greatest sum ever earned for an Arctic Biathlon! A huge ‘thank you’ and congratulations to everyone who took on this momentous challenge, and we would like to give special thanks to Morgan Stanley, who entered three teams and fundraised brilliantly.
Join us as we run, cycle and navigate our way across the Sahara from Boumaine Dades to Ikhfnirarim. Teams of four will take on this tough challenge with three days on mountain bikes and two days running (or walking for the less speedy).You will navigate a combined total of 150 kilometres across stony desert, through valleys and gorges, and over spectacular passes. En route we discover Tizi Tazzazert at 2,255m, the plateau of Tiblah and the dry river bed of the Handour River. Nights will be spent under the stars in tented camps. 46
Join us in our attempt to conquer the highest peak in the Pyrenees (3404m). A two-day autumn ascent promises glorious weather and a sprinkling of snow cover on the glacier, meaning ice axes, crampons and ropes will be necessary. The final ascent will begin by torchlight as we head for the gullies and then on to the eventual steep, airy traverse to the peak to watch the sunrise.
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Clare Madeline Kitteridge The work that Kids Company does for children who have suffered abuse or neglect is invaluable. Camila managed to silence a room full of lawyers when talking about the amazing work Kids Company does on a daily basis. I have followed the charity since then. Truly inspirational.
ht n Wrig Siobha trip to amazing h Kids n o n e e Just b um wit ce muse definitely n ie c s e th n y. Would Compan gain. The childre s u a f r o e ll te a volun un as did f h c u m had so grown ups!!!
ock Yvette Elc irational Simply an insp people ng group of you ndness f ki o ce and a pla ng. ri ca d an
Debbie Jepson Father Christmas doesn’t always remember everyone but fortunately Kids Company are helping the forgotten ones.
Tehmina Sethna Thank you Kids Company for helping us when no one else would!! I moved house to get Zac a school, which the borough closed one year later. So I had to find another one, which is very similar to the first one and he’s so much happier now.
Mike Tim s I heard Cam il whose lives a and some of the yo ung adults Kids Comp an speak at an event yeste y has transformed rday. Deeply and inspira tio serious am nal. I’m hoping we ca moving ou n awards dinn nt of money for them raise a er tomorrow at our night.
Tony Cannam These guys are the real thing, making a difference 48
Steve is a keyworker at the Treehouse, and runs their music, photography and filmmaking department.
I live locally and every time I walked past it was a hive of activity and I was curious. I knocked on the door, spoke to Tatty, she gave me a tour and I fell in love with the place. It was so colourful inside and the staff actually smiled, which was a far cry from my previous job.
Some people prefer to run sessions that are open ended and ongoing, whereas I often prefer to have an end goal in mind. The kids are incredibly creative and really know what they want and I’ve learned a great deal about the importance of responding to their creativity and letting it guide you, rather than getting too tied up in your own expectations.
I love the people at the Treehouse, it’s a community and there’s a lot of love. There are plenty of opportunities for reflection, either through supervision or the group process we have on a
Wednesday morning. I feel this culture of reflection is a fundamental part of the success of Kids Company and should be at the heart of any job or any life for that matter.
Sitting in the Tricycle Cinema last Christmas and watching the films we made, surrounded by the parents, staff and kids who put so much work into it is pretty hard to beat. It made me realise how powerfully therapeutic film can be as an art form.
A little bit every day, it sounds terribly clichéd, but this job feels more like a vocation to me. I was self-employed for a long time and enjoyed that freedom although it could be incredibly lonely and hard to motivate yourself. Working at the Treehouse allows me to be creative while offering a community spirit to express it through and I couldn’t ask for more than that.
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Annemarie responded to our call for volunteers to the Kids Venture and we snapped her up. Thandi from Kids Venture nominated her for our Meet the Volunteer, saying, ‘Annemarie was so lovely, and did great things [at Kids Venture] and also EGA school. We want her to come back!’
I had heard lots about Kids Company and emailed them to ask about doing a student placement. Someone phoned me back right away and two days later I was having an interview!
The colour! Everything, even the offices come to life with colour! It made Kids Venture feel like a home, a real lived in space to be used, enjoyed and played in! Yes. I think anyone who works with young people finds parts challenging. Especially when the young people are upset or are facing situations that you would love to be able to fix but just can’t. However, all the staff at Kids Venture are great and there was always someone to talk to, offer you practical guidance or give you a hug when needed. 50
Meal times! All of them. It was the time where I got to speak to all of the young people who came to Kids Venture as we all sat down and ate together. It was great to see the different ages all sitting together and there was a great buzz of happy conversation in the room.
If you can spare some time, get involved! Everyone you meet is friendly and supportive, you feel like part of Kids Company rather than just a volunteer! It is amazing organisation to spend time in and whatever your motives are for thinking about getting involved there are so many things to do and be part of that there will be something for you to get stuck in to.
AMV BBDO Andrew Winch Designs Arrowgrass Partners Aspen Insurance UK Services Ltd AstraZeneca Attenda Babson Capital Europe Limited Barclays GFTS Beggars Banquet & XL Records Big Lottery Fund Big Yellow Storage Bloomberg Boden Caxton Associates Centric Commercial Finance Ltd CH&Co Champagne Academy Citrix Systems Clarksons Clark Brownscombe Colt Comic Relief CS Securities Credit Suisse Dalberg Group Damien Hirst & Science Ltd Dexion Capital plc Douglas and Gordon Drake & Morgan Driven Worldwide EDF energy Ella’s Kitchen ExactTarget Fendi Fishburn Folli Follie Floral Graffiti Foxlow glh Hotels (Guoman Group) green energy Headmasters H.M. Structures Ltd Jenson8 Ltd John Lewis KIDSINguide Knight Frank Lazard Lean Mean Fighting Machine Liberty Little Dish Mindshare Mizuho Bank Momo Morgan Stanley mtn-i Network Rail Next Plc Nobel Finance North Atlantic Insurance Company Ltd Quintessentially Radley + Co Ltd Reiss Ltd Reed Elsevier
Restaurant Associates Samsung Electronics Selfridges Shell SG Hambros Bank Simply Business SJM Ltd Sketch Telecom Plus PLC The Hummingbird Bakery Unanimous Universal Music WACL WME - William Morris Endeavor Whole Foods Market
Alexandra Wylie (The) Alpenglow Hospice Foundation Anglo American Group Foundation Angus Lawson Memorial Trust Artemis Charitable Foundation (The) Asfari Foundation (The) Bank of America Merrill Lynch Big Lottery Fund Biss Davies Charitable Trust Coldplay Comic Relief Elizabeth Frankland Moore and Star Foundation (The) EMEA Foundation Esmée Fairbairn Foundation Hearn Foundation Hoare Trustees Holbeck Charitable Trust (The) HSBC Future First Impossible Odds Foundation (The) Incisive Media Foundation Innocent Foundation (The) J K Rowling’s Trust J Von Mars Foundation Javon Charitable Trust (The) JP Getty Jnr Charitable Trust Kerbascol Trust (The) Mackintosh Foundation Mohammed S. Farsi Foundation Nomura Charitable Trust Oak Foundation Quartet Community Foundation Raby Charity Trust (The) White Botham Trust Roden Family Foundation (The) Reta Lila Howard Foundation (The) Rothschild Foundation (The) Saint Anthony Park Foundation (The) SAP Foundation Sherborne House Trust Sigrid Rausing Trust Sofronie Foundation
Southampton Row Trust Sport England Sten Morstedt Family Trust (The) Three Amigos Vitol Foundation Vodafone Foundation Volant Charitable Trust (The) Waterloo Foundation (The) William Morris Endevour Foundation WACL Ltd
Charterhouse Eagle House School Harrodian School Malborough College Newton Prep Wellington College
Alan Yentob Aditya Mittal Alidad Khayami Ana Haurie Andrew Billett Andrew Webster Anita Kaushal Ann Winn Anthony & Tina Hene Arthur Van Hoogstraten Ben Drew Benoit Lefebvre du Prey Brian & Clare Linden Bruno Wang Charles Morgan Charles Wilson Chris & Joyce Pountain Christoph & Katrin Henkel Cindy Irvine Cristina Fitzgibbons ( Stenbeck) Damien Hirst David Barker David Gilmour & Polly Samson Deborah Finkler Declan & Margaret Monaghan Elisabeth Murdoch Eliza Pearson & LC Kvaal Emma Leith Geraldine Crossland Gillian Hailstone Harvey McGrath Jackie Johnstone Jade Boniface James Astor James Latham Jane & Andrew Winch Joan Woolard John Bishop John Frieda John Thacker Johnnie & Sophie Boden Jon & Kirsty Wright Jonathan & Jane Clarke Jonathan Davie
Kate De Haan Karl & Holly Peterson Lorna Pegler Lynton Crosby Martin & Tina Hughes Mary Lynn Ricks Michael & Harriet Heslopp Michael & Kitty McIntyre Michael Kirkman Ms Feuchtwanger & Mr A M Shaw Natalie & Ian Livingstone Nick Allot & Christa D’Souza Nick Lawson Nicolas Fineyold Omar Rahman Pauline Baumgartner Sir Peter Blake Peter & Sarah Harris Peter Wood Richard Curtis & Emma Freud Richard Russell Rosemary Airey Sam Breuning Stuart & Bianca Roden Jamie Cullum and Sophie Dahl Sunetra & Rowan Atkinson Tim & Catherine Cox Tony Tabatznik
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KIDS COMPANY 1 Kenbury Street, London SE5 9BS T: 0845 644 6838 E: info@Kidsco.org.uk W: www.kidsco.org.uk Registered Charity Number 1068298 52