£150,000 boost for 3 youth projects in sports, retail/fashion and environment

Thanks to our new £10 million five-year Westfield East Bank Creative Futures Fund, we have awarded 3 lead organisations– Catalyst In Communities, Badu Community CIC and The Line Art Walk – with grants of up to £50,000 awarding a total of £148,718 as part of Year 1.

The Large Grant Scheme funds collaborative and partnership projects that will support residents in Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest to use arts and culture, heritage and communities, research and innovation, technology, education, and/or creative placemaking to create access to education, skills & training development, lifelong learning and employment opportunities.

Projects include:

• Catalyst In Communities — Scaling Up CUT — The further development of a pilot project that engages young people in the design and making of a collection of jeans. Branded products will be created combined with skills development and employability support. Young people will take part in masterclasses, creative workshops as well as accessing work placements and apprenticeships. Working in Newham, Tower Hamlets, Hackney and Waltham Forest
• Badu Community CIC — Badu Sports+ — Radical Change to the Sport Industry — A sports industry project for young Black men and women to develop the skills and networks they need to secure employment within the sports industry. Through workshops, training and two scholarship places at Loughborough University, young people will gain skills to enter employment in sports marketing, media, coaching and performance analysis. Working in Newham and Hackney
• The Line Art Walk — Visible / Invisible — This collaboration aims to develop creative learning opportunities and skills training with schools and young people. Through training and paid work experience, participants will be offered employability support and workshops to learn about local artworks, heritage and wildlife to create and implement local ticketed guided walks, which they can continue to deliver and develop. Working in Newham, Tower Hamlets, Hackney and Waltham Forest

The Large Grant Scheme is part of Westfield East Bank Creative Futures Fund, an ambitious five-year programme supported by retailer Westfield Stratford City and delivered by Foundation for Future London that will invest £10 million into local communities of Newham, Tower Hamlets, Hackney and Waltham Forest. The Fund aims to connect the communities of East London with the new East Bank cultural quarter in development on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

For more information, see Westfield East Bank Creative Futures Fund Large Grant Scheme