London-based charity, dedicated to supporting young people and families from minority and disadvantaged backgrounds, receives £50,000 in funding

The Sapphire Community Group, which works across London to support young people and families from minority and disadvantaged backgrounds, has received £50,000 in funding from The Big Issue’s investment arm, Big Issue Invest.

Sapphire Community Group operates in Islington, Hackney, Camden, Southwark, Lewisham, Greenwich and Lambeth. It has worked with over 4,000 young people and families especially those from minority and disadvantaged backgrounds. The organisation equips young people to not only be the best version of themselves but also to find, follow and fulfil their purpose.  

The community group is there to give a voice to the voiceless; this is done by providing a platform for young people to find and understand more about their aims and ambitions. The Group’s objective is to increase young people in education or training and encourage skills development. As well as to reduce mental health issues, homelessness, crime rates and unemployment.

The Sapphire Community Group provides mentoring, coaching, literature, education, entertainment, events and workshops; the purpose is to provide a platform and pathway for young people aged 10 to 30 years old.

By building strong youth networks with Sapphire’s variety of programmes and media, the organisation can instil the self-confidence and self-belief individuals need to stay inspired and thrive in creating extraordinary change. Fundamentally, these skills will encourage growth for the young people to see and reach their full potential as empowered gems.

To date, the organisation has:

1. Worked with 4,600 young people, especially NEETs (those not in education, employment or training) and people from minority and disadvantaged backgrounds.
2. Placed over 100 young people – in less than 9 months – into work.
3. Trained over 150 young people in the past 12 months.
4. Deliver workshops to over 1,200 young people.
5. 20 direct and 100 referral clients ready to place young people directly into work.

The funding from Big Issue Invest has been key in enabling Sapphire to expand its reach, meaning it will be able to service almost twice the amount of young people it currently does.

Danyal Sattar, CEO of Big Issue Invest, said: “We are so pleased to be able to support an organisation such as Sapphire Community Group. The work it does across London is inspiring, offering invaluable support to young people across the city. I know they will go from strength to strength.”

Jasmine Cannon-Ikurusi, CEO and Founder of Sapphire Community Group, said: “We are so grateful for the support of Big Issue Invest, it will help us reach out to and support even more young people, to help them achieve their full potential.

“The sole purpose of The Sapphire Foundation is to build people up. Moreover, to ensure that each individual finds what they are meant to do in life. Through mentoring, coaching, literature, entertainment, events and workshops; we aim to provide a platform and pathway for young people all over the world find their callings. We aim to teach and inspire individuals to believe in themselves and see their full potential.”

To find out more about Big Issue Invest, or how your organisation could receive similar support as Sapphire Community Group, please visit: https://www.bigissue.com/invest/

To find out more about Sapphire Community Group, visit: https://sapphirecommunitygroup.org/