The Us Charitable Trust is a registered charity founded in 2012, based in Harlesden, London. Today, we engage approximately 1,300–1,500 young people each year through sustained programmes, with a wider reach of around 4,000 young people across our partner schools. We support marginalised ‘at-risk’ young people aged 10–25, equipping them with the skills, confidence and opportunities needed to thrive.
​
In our early days, we delivered after-school provision to provide safe, structured spaces for young people while they waited for parents or carers to return home. As these relationships developed, young people told us they wanted more — opportunities to be creative, to develop personally, and to prepare for life beyond school. In response, we evolved our offer to include a range of targeted programmes, events and experiences designed to build cultural capital, raise aspirations, and support progression into further education, training and employment. Mental health and wellbeing underpin all of our work.
​
We have built strong partnerships with local schools, particularly Newman Catholic College (NW10 3RN), where many of the young people we support are based. Our founder, Mrs Serena Balfour, has played a key role in strengthening these connections, serving as both a Governor at the school and a Trustee of the Young Brent Foundation. Our Youth Panel continues to shape our work, ensuring that young people’s voices directly inform programme design and delivery, leading to meaningful and relevant support pathways.
​
We now work closely with Newman Catholic College, Alperton Community School, The Crest Academy and Whitefriars School, with additional partnerships continuing to grow as we expand our reach and impact.
"I can state without equivocation that The Us Charitable Trust has had a transformative impact on the lives of the young people they engage. The courses are well attended and their work is recognised and valued by parents and teachers."
Headteacher of Newman Catholic College
We run after-school and holiday programmes designed to enrich our participants lives while at school, improve educational attainment and to make sure they are prepared and supported to leave school. Our activities focus on personal development, cultural experiences, introduction to employment/education possibilities and provide responsive tailored support to individuals.
​
Employment will be the biggest challenge, after education, for young people. Young people need as much support as they can get, the Us Charitable Trust will be doing all it can to support them in getting the education they need and the job opportunities they deserve.
​
WHAT WE DO
HOW WE WORK
We are a student-led organisation. We design our projects with our Youth Panel on an annual residential and also throughout the year. As a result, our programmes and activities directly reflect issues the young people are facing and areas they are interested in. Over the years this has seen programmes including: Film & Social Media, Wellbeing & Mental Health, Digital Skills and the Music Industry.
​
Our Alumni network is also key to our planning and evaluation, seeing how our ex-students find the ‘real world’. Many come back to act as volunteers or paid staff for Us. We also have numerous student trustees.
PARTNERS
We work with a wide range of trusted organisations in Brent and beyond, including The National Lottery, The John Lyons Charity, Children in Need, Charlie Bigham’s, The Young Brent Foundation, Jason Roberts Foundation, InvestIN, The King’s Trust, local schools, Radley College, Imperial College, Multiverse, The Talent Foundry, Barclays LifeSkills, University of the Arts London, and the Metropolitan Police, among many more.
Core funding from The National Lottery, The John Lyons Charity, and Children in Need supports our full-time and part-time staff, meaning that all additional funds raised go directly towards project costs and delivery. Please visit our Partners page for more details.
THE SITUATION
Our students live in Brent, in the top 10% of areas of multiple deprivation. We see child poverty, poor educational outcomes and youth crime systemically interlinked. Many of the young people we work with are individuals of precarious status. We have a large number of refugee children, many from Syria, who have experienced intermittent education, traumatic experiences and are now in an unfamiliar country speaking a new language. With severe cuts to both youth services and education, it is vital these young people are nourished, supported and given the skills they need to flourish in the next stage of their lives.
