Berkeley Homes South East London has appointed the St Giles Trust to be its new charity partner. The partnership, which will run for three years, will see the property developer and house builder raise vital funds and awareness for the charity through employee fundraising, partner events and volunteering initiatives throughout the calendar year.
Over 150 employees from the South East London hub were invited to take part in a company vote for their next charity partner. Results revealed St Giles as the number one choice. The partnership launched on 5th  September.
The alliance will help to fund St Giles’ flagship criminal exploitation services for young people, SOS and SOS+. These initiatives help vulnerable young people who are criminally exploited through gangs, serious violence and offending to stay safe and make positive choices. The partnership will support both services in the boroughs of Newham and Southwark, helping thousands of young people to stay safe and make positive choices.
The SOS Service trains and employs people across England and Wales with lived experience, including those with experience of the criminal justice system, as caseworkers who provide practical and psychological support to their clients. These are vulnerable young people who have been criminally exploited or are risk of becoming so. The aim is to help them to avoid offending and reintegrate themselves into society.
The SOS+ Service delivers preventative and early intervention work to children and young people; as well as training for parents and professionals in educational and community settings.
St Giles’ award-winning approach uses trained professionals with lived experience of the criminal justice system to equip children and young people to think critically, assess risk and make better life choices, making them more resilient to the risks of becoming involved in gangs, exploitation and violence.
Berkeley Homes South East London said:
As a business we are passionate about supporting and helping to establish stable, long-standing communities in our local areas, and encouraging young people to thrive in order to help them build a better future.
We are delighted to have partnered with St Giles Trust, a charity that we feel we can work with to really help make an impact.”
Rob Owen, St Giles CEO said:
We are so grateful to the team at Berkeley Homes South East London for choosing to partner with St Giles. To achieve long-term change for young people at risk we rely on partnerships with local organisations who share our values and ambitions.
We are thrilled to be building our partnership with Berkeley Homes South East London to develop our services and support for local communities in Southwark and Newham.”