Tower Hamlets charity City Gateway wins Prime Minister’s Big Society Award
PM: "City Gateway has worked with a huge range of corporate partners and volunteers to help local women and young people gain the skills needed to progress into work."
City Gateway, a charity which provides training and support to disadvantaged young people and women in the local communities of Tower Hamlets, is the latest winner of the Prime Minister’s Big Society Award.
Set up by a group of City workers to support the community around them, City Gateway offers disadvantaged individuals the opportunity to get involved with community events, drop-in youth clubs, apprenticeship schemes and the chance to develop their own business ideas.
The charity runs women’s projects, youth training, a youth centre and a social enterprise hub, bringing together different cultures and working against conflict and division.
Congratulating City Gateway on the award, the Mr Cameron said:
City Gateway has worked with a huge range of corporate partners and volunteers to help local women and young people gain the skills needed to progress into work.
Their Women’s Project and Young Leaders programmes provide a vital network of support to the communities of Tower Hamlets, helping to build the confidence local women and young people need to secure jobs.
I would like to congratulate all the staff involved for their excellent work. The Big Society Award recognises their hard work and dedication, successfully bringing local communities closer together to drive change. I wish them every success with continuing their mission to help the women and young people of Tower Hamlets progress into work and higher education.
Accepting the award, Eddie Stride, City Gateway CEO said:
City Gateway was set up by local people who saw the gap between the economic development of parts of Tower Hamlets and some parts of the community who were being left behind.
Our mission is to bring hope to Tower Hamlets and our aim is to always to build the capacity of local communities and local people to find their own solutions to the challenges facing them.
We have been privileged to celebrate many success stories of individuals who have been enabled to do more, and achieve more, not just for themselves but also for their families and communities.
Ezinne, service user at City Gateway Women’s Project, said:
City Gateway Women’s Project teaches you as a client and gives you an opportunity to serve the public as volunteer.
Volunteering has improved my confidence and I can use my initiative and skills to work by myself as well as work in a team. Meeting and making new friends is an amazing aspect of volunteering.
I can proudly search for jobs and work in an office environment using my skills and experience because I have been given a taste of an office environment from volunteering at City Gateway Women’s Project.
Over the course of this year, City Gateway has worked with corporate partners and community volunteers to successfully:
- deliver accredited year-long training courses to over 300 young people, resulting in 169 apprenticeships
- deliver access to training for 686 women and progress 79 to work placements, including 35 to sustainable employment
- train volunteers aged 16-24 in peer leadership and mentoring skills to support at risk young people
- open up a range of training, employment, health and advice services, including translators, language courses and an onsite creche - all free of charge for 210 local women each week
- employ 58 long-term unemployed young people and women within their social enterprises
Notes to Editors
For press enquiries contact: Darren Wolf, email: darren.wolf@citygateway.org.uk
Read more about the Big Society Awards.
External site: Find out more about City Gateway