Shoosmiths celebrates impact of charitable donations

February, 2023 - Milton Keynes, England

Law firm Shoosmiths is celebrating the impact of funds donated by its Foundation to End Youth Homelessness and Street League charities.

The Shoosmiths Foundation awarded a total of £90,000 in October 2021 to tackle youth homelessness and unemployment, supporting the firm’s strategic aim to advance social mobility in line with the Shoosmiths social mobility action plan

End Youth Homelessness (EYH) is a national movement of 11 charities across the UK that have joined forces to tackle the UK’s youth homelessness crisis. Its member charities supported over 40,000 homeless young people aged 16-25 in 2021.

In the last year, EYH’s ‘Employability Fund’ surpassed its original funding goal and saw a total of 46 young people progress into employment, education, or training thanks to Shoosmiths’ donation. Of those 46 young people, 13 sustained full-time employment, 14 found part-time employment in industries such as retail, hospitality and catering, 11 sustained further education and the remainder sustained traineeships or volunteering placements. 

Faye Edmondson, End Youth Homelessness head of fundraising, said: “We were delighted to secure funding from the Shoosmiths Foundation in October 2021 as part of its first grant round. The impact of that funding has been truly transformational for the 46 young people supported. 

“Homeless young people are among the most disadvantaged in the UK and typically find themselves furthest away from the labour market. However, we know with the right support they can go on to achieve great things. We want to thank the Shoosmiths Foundation for sharing that belief and providing the funding needed by young people experiencing homelessness so that they can go on to live the life they want.”

Street League is a charity using sport and education to help young people into work. Funding from the Shoosmiths Foundation was put towards Street League’s qualification programme in Sheffield and Leeds, supporting young people aged 16-24 from some of the most deprived communities to gain qualifications they need to secure meaningful job opportunities. 

Exceeding its target to support 53 young people between November 2021-October 2022, 187 young people were able to start Street League’s qualification programme and engage in daily sports, make new friends and better their physical and mental wellbeing. 

Eighty-two young people were also supported into employment, education or training, resulting in 89% of the cohort sustaining their job outcome for three months and 62% for six months.

Georgia Dessain, Street League head of corporate partnerships, said: “We are immensely grateful for the Shoosmiths Foundation’s support over the last year. With mental health issues amongst young people ever more prevalent post-pandemic, with young people and their families choosing between heating and eating, and with school leavers having missed out on formative educational and social experiences, this support came at a crucial time to ensure young people in Yorkshire had the opportunity to build a better future.”

David Jackson, CEO of Shoosmiths, said: “We believe passionately at Shoosmiths in doing all we can to enhance and improve social mobility and we’re delighted that through The Shoosmiths Foundation, we have been able to make a positive impact on the lives of young people with our donations to these two amazing charities. 

“It’s inspiring to see the dedicated people who work at these charities making such a difference to these young people’s lives and we are super proud to support what they are doing.”

Further information about the Shoosmiths Foundation including the one year on progress reports published by End Youth Homelessness and Street League can be found here.

dots