Big Lottery Fund visit to Collage Arts

It was lovely to welcome the senior management teams at London Youth and Big Lottery Fund to spend the morning and have lunch with Collage Arts’ staff and young people at the Talent Match Hub (Chocolate Factory 2) in Wood Green.

‘…a day of adventure’ and   ‘…living and breathing the Talent Match London values’ , were just some of the ways that the Talent Match London team at London Youth spoke about Collage Arts’ delivery of the project on their recent visit on 14 May 2015 with Matthew Poole (Head of Funding), Danny Homan (Chief of Staff) and Tim Davis-Pugh (Deputy Director, England) from the Big Lottery Fund.

Steph Taylor, Head of Talent Match London (London Youth) said that they were ‘…clearly impressed by the work [we] are doing, particularly the quality of youth involvement’… by young Talent Matchers and the Youth Board who made short presentations about the inspiring, unique projects they’ve been doing so far, and the big plans they have for the coming months, and years, ahead.

One of the most important things about Talent Match London is how hard the project works with each member to find something really suitable for that young person, and It was great for the visitors to see that in play, with the presentations that Sarah, Hannah, and Burak made, and how well they worked together.

Danny Solle, TML Programme Delivery manager (London Youth) said that his favourite part about the day was seeing how much the Talent Match London members “…support and inspire each other, and that’s so important in life,… and I know that other young people who join Talent Match London will learn that from […them].”

“One thing that really resonated with me though was Sarah using chicken wire and clothes pegs for her presentation rather than a computer, whiteboard or paper.  It was really innovative and reminded me to bring my creative side into my day job whenever I can!”

“It’s really clear to me that the Talent Matchers are using their skills and confidence to inspire other young people.  We’ve learned on Talent Match London that this is the best way to recruit other young people onto the programme and you have demonstrated this brilliantly over the last year.”

If you would like to know more about Talent Match, visit www.DiscoverYourTalent.co.uk or contact Taz on 020 8829 8983.