Youth clubs pitch for success!
20 November 2015
On Wednesday 18th November, City Hall hosted City Pitch in partnership with London Youth. City Pitch gives young people the opportunity to make a difference in their communities, by pitching for a share of funding to develop a community project.The programme has already engaged 500 young Londoners and supported 40 community projects.
Wednesday night's City Pitch was bigger and better than ever before! Instead of the usual £1,000 maximum grant, there was a whopping £3,000 up for grabs and audience voting was introduced for the first time.
Jamal Edwards, the young entrepreneur responsible for SB.TV, was among those on the judging panel. When asked by Matthew Patten, Chief Executive of the Mayor's Fund for London, what he was looking for in tonight’s pitches, Jamal’s response was simple. “I’m looking for opportunities that solve problems. Everyday people come across problems and it’s our responsibility to find the solutions.” Jamal also had some stories to share from his first time pitching to Sir Richard Branson, in which he was late! “I learnt that I needed to set an alarm. At that point I was still relying on my mum to wake me up”.
Amongst the youth organisations pitching for funding was Community links, a Talent Match London local delivery partner. The Community Link youth board were pitching a 6 month employment programme called Armour up for Employment, to support young people not in education or training. The youth board delivered an excellent presentation and answered some tough questions from the panel. After their presentation the group kept their composure and patiently waited in the wings whilst the other youth clubs presented. After a tense 20 minute interval in which the judges deliberated on which projects to fund, the Community links youth board were rewarded for their efforts and will be able to run their project! Congratulations to the Community Links youth board!
