Dear Friends and Supporters,
2021 has been another year in which the covid19 pandemic has exacerbated pre-existing inequalities within our society, particularly for less advantaged young people in urban areas. Education and employment opportunities, access to physical and mental healthcare, technology and affordable activities and safe outdoor spaces have been constricted while the cost of living has gone up.
Last year we made the decision to loosen our purse strings to get extra funds to the brilliant London youth organisations who need it more than ever. And we are happy to report that we have enabled more vulnerable young people across the capital get help, hope and a path to a brighter future, than ever before.
Next year we want to continue this higher level of support, so if you are able to give one extra gift this season, a donation to Tom's Trust will make a big difference to those who need a little help to unlock their full potential.
We wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
The Trustees.
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Raising the Stakes - Tom's Farm Thrives
Tom's Trust was created out of a combination of logic and compassion, to try to prevent further senseless violence on the streets, by understanding what brings a person to the point that they are willing to risk destroying their own lives as well as their victims' for so little potential gain.
On that journey of understanding we found ourselves at the Nightingale Community Academy in Wandsworth, a school specially created for boys aged 9 to 15 with severe learning difficulties and excluded students with multiple problems. Together we hatched a plan to see if giving the boys some responsibility of care over animals would help them develop empathy, attachment and value for life; to see if it is possible for nature to bring out the innate human instinct to nurture.
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We are extremely proud to say that the experiment has been an even greater success than we dared imagine. Not only has the farm grown in size and variety of its happy and well cared for residents, but in its scope too.
As well being a source of joy, inspiration and education for every boy at Nightingale, it is now used by dozens of other schools and youth organisations too; is part of a growing national network of school farms sharing knowledge and stock; and is close to becoming a self-sustaining enterprise, selling rare breeds and building partnerships across the thriving 'farm to fork' ethical and sustainable food movement. Follow Tom's Farm on facebook for regular updates and cute photos!
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Fighting for a better start
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For the last nine years, The Royal Foundation’s Centre for Early Childhood, under the direction of the Duchess of Cambridge, has been researching how experiences in early childhood are often the root cause of today’s hardest social challenges such as addiction, family breakdown, poor mental health, violence, suicide and homelessness.
Tom's Trust also believes that the first 2 years of life are critical for a stable, happy and empathetic adulthood. That's why we support the pioneering work of WAVE Trust, whose aim is to reduce the propensity for violence associated with early life trauma. They do this by understanding the root causes of child abuse, neglect and domestic violence and developing and promoting global best practice approaches to addressing it through consultancy, action plans, blueprints, workshops, training and partnership.
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