Be Inspired, a Croydon-based group dedicated to tackling youth crime and supporting young people in making positive life choices, has received an £80,000 grant from the Wates Family Enterprise Trust (WFET).

The grant will be used to help develop Be Inspired’s ‘Generation Change’ programme, which delivers one to one and group work on employability, including confidence building, work experience and job interview skills.

Formerly known as Gloves Not Gunz and Urban Yogis UK, the Norbury Park Pavilion-based group runs programmes using sport and education to develop life skills, social awareness, and self-discipline. Be Inspired offers boxing, yoga, and jiu-jitsu classes, alongside mentoring, employment and educational support, and mental health therapy, including support for trauma and substance abuse.

Scott Arnott, Director and Team Leader at Be Inspired said: “Wates has been incredibly supportive, and in a time when funding is scarce, the grant from WFET is a lifeline for our employability work.”

WFET is a registered charity that was founded by the Wates Family whose company, Wates Group also supports a wide range of social activities in Croydon, where the company was founded over 125 years ago.

In 2024, Wates Group modified aspects of the Be Inspired premises ahead of the grant application to WFET, which was led by Regional Social Value Manager, Christina Byrne.

“Our grant to Be Inspired is part of a unique three-way relationship we have created between the Wates Family Enterprise Trust, the Wates Group and organisations tackling serious social issues. The Trust is providing funding to Be Inspired to support its employability programme with young people across South London over the next two years,” says Director of WFET, Felicity Mallam.

The grant is part of WFET’s Thinking Differently fund, which brings WFET and Wates Group together with the goal of supporting smaller organisations seeking to drive change.

Christina adds, “Alongside the grant, I and my colleagues look forward to providing hands-on support over the next two years, which will include linking them to our supply chain to assist development and growth”.

Wates’ involvement with Be Inspired extends beyond funding and refurbs. Marc Rice, a Building Services Manager with Wates, was asked to deliver a talk to the club in 2023 and has been attending sessions coaching ever since. He is currently delivering ‘Box Champions’ 20-week Programme, mentoring young people through the power of boxing.

“Wates introduced me to the club, now I’m able to give back. Given my own challenging childhood I can relate to many of our members situations; seeing them grow and develop is the reason I’m here,” highlights Marc.

The official handover of the grant follows the recent passing of Adam Ballard, who co-founded Be Inspired with Ben Eckett in 2017. Members of the Be Inspired team are deeply committed to honouring Adam’s legacy with the grant, and acknowledged that he would want the group’s work to grow, and make even more of a positive difference to the community.

An evening session at Be Inspired can involve up to 40 young people, and on average the group helps 700 to 800 a year.  It has provided more than 2,500 hours of mentoring, supported more than 2,300 young people, run more than 100 programmes in six locations, with 90 per cent of participants coming from BAME backgrounds.