William Wates Memorial Trust

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William Wates Memorial Trust The William Wates Memorial Trust exists to celebrate the life of William Wates who was tragically killed in Central America.

The Trust is a grants giving registered charity set up in 1998 with a mission to help the most disadvantaged young people.

SkyWay Charity has worked alongside children, young people and communities in some of London’s most disadvantaged neighb...
31/08/2026

SkyWay Charity has worked alongside children, young people and communities in some of London’s most disadvantaged neighbourhoods for over 20 years. It supports young people aged 6–25 who face barriers including poverty, educational exclusion, poor physical and mental health, unemployment, violence and exploitation.

By reaching young people early and building trusted relationships, SkyWay helps prevent challenges from escalating and supports young people to make positive choices. Through youth clubs, mentoring, sport, health and wellbeing activities, and education and employment support, its youth workers provide safe spaces where young people can build confidence, resilience, life skills and aspirations.

William Wates Memorial Trust has provided core funding which provides the stability and flexibility to respond to changing needs and invest in the relationships that enable lasting change. The partnership reflects a shared commitment to helping young people overcome disadvantage, remain engaged in education and build safer, healthier and more positive futures.

For over 50 years, Oasisplay has been at the heart of its community, transforming the lives of children and young people...
31/08/2026

For over 50 years, Oasisplay has been at the heart of its community, transforming the lives of children and young people in Lambeth, one of London’s most deprived areas.

Welcoming around 1,000 children and young people each year, Oasisplay provides over 2,000 hours of free, supervised and inclusive activities, including environmental and adventure play, holiday schemes, trips, educational sessions and youth leadership opportunities. Supporting children and young people from pre-school to 25, Oasisplay offers a breadth of opportunities unmatched locally.

Its work takes place across four unique sites: a Nature Garden, Stockwell Adventure Playground, Bolton Crescent Adventure Playground and a Karting Track.

Oasisplay is fully inclusive, with a disabled and non-disabled staff team that reflects the communities it serves. At its heart is a sense of belonging: helping children and young people understand themselves and others, build confidence, and know they have somewhere to turn when they need support.

WWMT is supporting Exit Foundation with a grant of £24k over two years. Exit Foundation works with some of the most vul...
31/08/2026

WWMT is supporting Exit Foundation with a grant of £24k over two years.


Exit Foundation works with some of the most vulnerable and at-risk young people across London, particularly those affected by serious youth violence, criminal and sexual exploitation, gang involvement, school exclusion, substance misuse and involvement with the criminal justice system. Many of the young people referred to them have experienced significant trauma, instability and disadvantage and are at a point where positive intervention can make a life-changing difference.

Through intensive, relationship-based mentoring, Exit Foundation provides each young person with a trusted adult and a bespoke, solution-focused programme designed around their individual needs. Their mentors support young people to recognise risk, make safer choices, rebuild family relationships, re-engage with education, training or employment and develop the confidence and resilience needed to move towards a positive future. Alongside mentoring, young people can access sport and fitness, employability support, counselling and therapeutic services and ongoing practical advocacy.

Their aim is not simply to steer young people away from crime and violence, but to give them the relationships, opportunities and belief in themselves that enable them to fulfil their potential.

WWMT is supporting Legacy Youth Zone, a purpose-built youth charity creating opportunities for young people across Croyd...
13/08/2026

WWMT is supporting Legacy Youth Zone, a purpose-built youth charity creating opportunities for young people across Croydon to thrive.

One of the largest open access youth provisions in South London, they are open when schools are closed. They provide a safe, welcoming place where young people aged 8–19, and up to 25 with additional needs, can build positive relationships, discover their potential and access the support they need to lead happier, healthier and more successful lives. Every year, thousands of young people choose Legacy as their place to belong, helping to reduce isolation, improve wellbeing and create brighter futures.

Through more than 20 inspiring activities every day, including sports, climbing, music, dance, cooking, arts, employability, mentoring, wellbeing programmes, holiday clubs and one of the largest open access SEND youth offers in Croydon, they remove barriers to opportunity and help young people develop the confidence, resilience and skills to succeed.

****this grant was put forward to WWMT by Ruari MacGibbon who was one of Will’s great friends when he was travelling in ...
13/08/2026

****this grant was put forward to WWMT by Ruari MacGibbon who was one of Will’s great friends when he was travelling in South America. Ruari is now skippering one of the Cirdan Trust sailing vessels and will be speaking at our WWMT golf day****

The Cirdan Sailing Trust enables young people to achieve their full potential in a unique setting at sea on our diverse fleet of large sailing vessels. Every voyage is personalised and prioritises inclusivity for all young people regardless of socio-economic background, mental wellbeing or neurodiversity. The immersive and interactive experience of life onboard builds resilience and promotes tolerance and self-development.

Working across the youth sector they provide young people, particularly those who are disadvantaged or facing challenges in life, with an opportunity to develop life skills, increase self-confidence and self-esteem, build resilience, improve communication skills, stimulate the desire to learn and generally enhance mental health and wellbeing.

Their Voyages of Discovery specifically aim to nurture personal growth by offering novelty, excitement, and enjoyable activities, ideally in beautiful natural environments. It offers new challenges and adversities, which can usually be overcome through resilience, shared effort, and mutual support.

For young people who struggle to engage in more conventional settings like sitting in a clinic or classroom, the environment also provides opportunities to talk through difficulties and problems, with each other and with their group leaders, and with an external focus which takes some of the pressure off the interaction.

WWMT have made a grant of £10,000 per year for 2 years to the St Matthew’s Project. (SMP). Rick Wates is the project cha...
11/06/2026

WWMT have made a grant of £10,000 per year for 2 years to the St Matthew’s Project. (SMP). Rick Wates is the project champion.

About SMP:

The St Matthew’s Project provides a safe and encouraging place where young people aged 3 – 25 can come together and take part in fun, challenging and high-quality sport and educational programmes. We help children and young people living mainly in the Brixton Rush Common and Brixton Windrush wards of Lambeth fulfil their potential and have a real impact on their community. What began as a kick-about in Brockwell Park is now a thriving youth project, which offers a growing array of programmes and services to over 350 young people each week.
The project has a dedicated team with extensive experience of working with a challenging target group and a thorough understanding of the local community and its needs. Our current activities include weekly turn-up-and-play sessions for all genders; a Family Fitness Programme; estate-based sports sessions; and a Fit for Life programme combining free football with mental health and wellbeing workshops. For those aged 16+, we offer free F.A coaching courses, construction work training opportunities and a volunteering programme.

WWMT has awarded a grant of £12,000 per annum to Carneys Community for a period of two years. Jonny Wates is the Lead Tr...
09/06/2026

WWMT has awarded a grant of £12,000 per annum to Carneys Community for a period of two years. Jonny Wates is the Lead Trustee.

About Carney’s Community:

We support young people living in and around Wandsworth, targeting ages 11-30 facing extreme challenges including criminal justice system involvement or care experience. Carney’s works differently by providing long-term, consistent, unconditional support with empathy; a safe space and activities including boxing, bike workshops, employment support, studio sessions, mentoring and key work.

Inspired by boxing legend Mick Carney, the charity was founded in his name after his passing in 2011, building on work led by our co-founders. Our work is underpinned by intensive one-to-one key work for young people facing the greatest barriers to achieving their goals, each young person is assigned a dedicated key worker who walks alongside them as an advocate.

For our young people we strive for equality and aim to:
Improve Physical and Mental Health
Improve Education, Skills and Employability
Improve Community Engagement
Reduce Offending and Reoffending

We aim to create a “virtuous cycle”: while support is free of charge, we ask that when young people are ready, they channel the positivity they have received into others. As a result, many go on to volunteer, mentor, join our staff team or even set up their own community initiatives. Former participants make up the majority of our workforce. They provide the most authentic role models, people who genuinely understand the challenges our young people face and who show what is possible.

AllChild’s vision is that, if we all work together, every child and young person can flourish in their school and commun...
26/02/2026

AllChild’s vision is that, if we all work together, every child and young person can flourish in their school and community. Current support systems are stretched and siloed meaning children fall through the cracks. AllChild identifies children and young people in socioeconomically disadvantaged communities who could benefit most from early support, building trust and joining up the system around them so that they engage with meaningful opportunities - taking proactive steps to prevent challenges before they arise, rather than reacting after they do.

Through their tailored Impact Programmes, AllChild enables children and young people to the
build the relationships and skills they need to achieve positive social, emotional and academic outcomes.

They do this by building trusted partnerships and mobilising connections between families,
schools, councils and community organisations so that every child gets the right support in the right way at the right time.

They are quickly becoming a leading place-based charity, having grown from a pilot of just three schools in West London to a national charity supporting over 1,700 children and young people annually.

In 2024, they successfully co-designed and translated their model in Greater Manchester and are set to launch more place-based partnerships in new communities across the UK in 2026 - crucial progress towards realising their long-term ambition: to enable a new way of investing in children’s futures in our communities and to build a movement for change at every level, from local to regional to national, led by AllChild Alumni voices.

Spiral Skills is a South London youth charity unlocking the talent and potential of underserved young people. They build...
26/02/2026

Spiral Skills is a South London youth charity unlocking the talent and potential of underserved young people. They build confidence, develop essential skills, and support young people to progress into education, employment and leadership.

Through strong local partnerships, trusted role models and real-world opportunities, they connect young people to the networks and ecosystems that help them shape their futures and influence the systems around them. They also create pathways for those with lived experience to step into leadership, co-design services and drive meaningful change.

At the heart of their work is the Spiral magic: consistently showing up with authenticity and care, meeting young people where they are (both physically and emotionally), and actively bridging them to opportunity so they can recognise their capabilities and shape their own futures with confidence.

The Watts Gallery in Guildford runs an Art for All Community Learning Programme which follows the ethos of their artist-...
24/02/2026

The Watts Gallery in Guildford runs an Art for All Community Learning Programme which follows the ethos of their artist-founders, who
believed that art had the power to change society and should be available for everyone to
experience and enjoy. Just as Mary Watts supported the local community to learn creative
skills, they work in partnership with charities, organisations and prisons to offer artist-led
workshops to young people and adults. Through engaging creatively with art and ideas,
participants develop skills, gain qualifications, employment and rehabilitation.

WWMT have donated £24,192 over 2 years. This funding will enable the delivery of arts-based
workshops for young people identified as vulnerable, disengaged from education and in need of
support. Through attending the workshops the young people will be able to develop new skills,
increase self-esteem, gain confidence and enjoy being creative, as well as have the opportunity to gain an Arts Award.

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Leatherhead
KT227SU

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+447712557110

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