With so many more people struggling with the day-to-day financial challenges, Redditch and Bromsgrove children’s charity the Oakland Foundation has now extended its support to encompass disadvantaged children living anywhere in England and Wales.
Oakland Foundation Chair of Trustees Peter Vaughan commented: “Throughout the pandemic the Foundation worked to increase and extend our contact with more and more local schools and youth organisations, with reports in May stating that the number of children now living in poverty in the UK is 4.3 million.
“Having applied to change the charity’s objects the Foundation is delighted to confirm that we can now extended our geographical reach to support children from across the whole of England and Wales through initiatives based around education, health and nutrition and sport.”
Launched in 2012 and officially opened by Her Royal Highness, The Princess Royal, the Foundation’s initial aim was to support underprivileged children in Redditch and Bromsgrove. Today in the shadow of the Covid pandemic there is a greater need than ever before to help and support underprivileged children across the country, with the charity’s new object being to relieve the needs of children in England and Wales who are in need by reason of their financial hardship or other disadvantage.
Some of the causes supported by the Foundation includes supporting over 1,100 girls through the ‘This Girl Can’ programme in partnership with Sports Partnership Herefordshire and Worcestershire. Helped in the delivery of over 1,000 holiday meals via the Active Kitchen project in Redditch since 2017 and ensured over 400 breakfasts annually were made available to children undertaking SATS exams, and 150 children benefitted from summer sports activities. Since widening its area of support the Foundation has given financial backing to several Leicestershire youth projects including funding for a multisport youth club initiative, and prior to the Charities Commission confirmation, helped organise financial support for a summer holiday programme in Leicestershire via its key sponsor Oakland International.
Added Peter: “Going forward the Foundation’s focus is to retain existing relationships and to build new partnerships at a local level with education and youth organisations that will support, assist and help disadvantaged children to develop self-confidence, build new skills and hopefully we can help inspire the next generation.”