As 2024 comes to a close, the John Sykes Foundation looks back on another year marked by progress, impact, and partnerships, with a continued commitment to enhancing the lives of Reading’s residents. From awarding vital grants to fostering collaborations, the Foundation has strengthened its mission of building a better future for the local community.
This year, the Foundation focused its efforts on key areas with a notable emphasis on young people, fostering mental health initiatives, and aiding organisations that support those with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). Additionally, funding was awarded to vital community projects, homelessness services, and animal welfare initiatives.
Empowering Young People
In 2024, 59% of the grants awarded by the John Sykes Foundation were to charities supporting young people and youth projects – with a particular focus on mental health services, youth engagement, and the arts.
No5 Young People were awarded grants totalling £7,000 to assist in providing free, accessible counselling and mental health support services for young people aged 11 to 25 years old in Reading, as well as helping to reduce waiting times and improve availability. No5 are a vital service to our town and their demand is unfortunately growing year-on-year, currently supporting over 1,700 young people and their families annually. The John Sykes Foundation has supported No5 since 2021 and will continue to do so in 2025.
Grants totalling £3,000 were awarded to Grassrootz Youth Club, who run various drop-in youth clubs and pop-up events across Reading, in areas such as Coley, Caversham, and Whitley, as well as “Olly’s Work,” the name given to the youth-focussed charitable work of the Stephens Family following the tragic death of their son, Olly Stephens, in Emmer Green. This vital work fosters positive development to empower the youth, with their aims of reducing knife crime, advocating for increased online safety, and guiding young people on the right path with the right mentors as they grow older.
The Foundation also supported Reading Family Aid, ABC to Read, and Progress Theatre with grants totalling £4,000. This funding directly supported young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. Reading Family Aid were awarded funds to support the teenagers category of their Annual Toys and Teens Appeal, which the Foundation has helped fund for 3 years now and ensures as many underprivileged children, who wouldn’t ordinarily have families who could afford gifts, receive presents at Christmas.
ABC to Read were awarded a grant for their “Buddy Project,” an initiative to enable older students to support younger students for whom reading and literacy is a challenge. The grant to the long-established Progress Theatre enabled them to enhance their youth programs by offering workshops, mentorship, and bursary places to young, aspiring actors and directors, who, due to financial barriers, may not have ordinarily been able to access the arts.
Supporting Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)
Supporting people with SEND was the second highest funded sector for the John Sykes Foundation in 2024.
A key mission of the Foundation is to foster long-term partnerships with local organisations rather than one-off donations, and in 2024, three key organisations - Brookfields SEN School, Parenting Special Children, and Reading Mencap - received further support.
The partnership with Brookfields SEN School entered its 5th year, whereby the Foundation fund and organise two visits a month for a “Pets as Therapy” dog to visit students. With Brookfields being a Special School, these students have complex special educational needs, and although a small gesture, the therapy dog brings additional smiles and comfort to the students.
In addition, grants were provided to Parenting Special Children and Reading Mencap, both of whom the Foundation have partnered with since 2022. Parenting Special Children assist people with SEND up to the age of 18, whilst Reading Mencap support people from the age of 16 onwards.
This year, these two charities received grants totalling £3,573. The funding awarded to Parenting Special Children was to their “Make Magic: Prevention Before Crisis” campaign aiming to provide critical early intervention services to families of children and young people with special needs and those who have experienced early life trauma. Reading Mencap’s grant was to fund several festive activities for their service users and parents/carers, being a Christmas disco, a trip to the Pantomime, a Christmas meal, and a Table Centrepiece Workshop for parents/carers.
The Foundation also extended its support to Fifi’s Vision, a small charity providing invaluable support to parents with children with SEND. This organisation came to the attention of the Trustees of the John Sykes Foundation in 2024, and although no official application had been received, a unanimous decision was made to provide a grant to help to enable Fifi’s Vision to continue to support a number of families in Reading and to show faith in their mission.
Homelessness
In a boost to charities combatting homelessness, the John Sykes Foundation awarded funds to two charities – Faith Christian Group and The Way Ministry – to further their vital work in providing shelter, food, and care to vulnerable individuals.
Andy Dickens, Director of Faith Christian Group, invited the Foundation to visit and learn about their two night shelters in Reading – one for those find themselves homeless and the other offering sanctuary for individuals with a Right to Remain status within the asylum seeker system. The Foundation subsequently supported the night shelters by funding the purchase of 50 duvets, laundry costs, sleeping bags for those without accommodation, and essential hygiene supplies such as underwear, socks, and deodorants.
Faith Christian Group run various projects in Reading, including ReadiStreet, ReadiFood, Reading Pantries, and A Bed for the Night. They work directly with those vulnerable and homeless in our community, ensuring that these people receive hot meals, food parcels, clean clothing, toiletries, and washing facilities.
The Way Ministry were supported by the John Sykes Foundation by funding a trip to the seaside in Brighton for 70 service users. Since 2012, The Way Ministry have been supporting people who are homeless, vulnerable, at risk of becoming homeless, or need help to get back on their feet. They aim to break the cycle of homelessness, poverty, and exclusion in Reading.
Local Community Support
The John Sykes Foundation remains deeply committed to fostering local community initiatives. For six years, they have funded and organised the “Team Member of the Month” award at the Royal Berkshire Hospital’s A&E department, as well as continuing to support St Matthew’s Church in Southcote – this year by funding a petting zoo for their Easter celebration.
Furthering its commitment to community cohesion, the Foundation provided funding to the Sanctuary Strikers Football Team, part of the Reading Refugee Support Group, for the purchase of brand-new floodlights to illuminate their training pitch at Palmer Park, in turn helping to reduce costs for hiring training grounds and also creating a vibrant space for the team to train.
During the year, the Foundation also visited Starting Point, Dingley’s Promise, the Whitley Amateur Boxing Club, Thames Hospice, the Reading Crown Court School Mock Trials, the Engine Shed, the Berkshire Army Cadet Force, Berkshire MS Therapy Centre, Care4Calais Reading, and met with other charitable foundations to better understand how we can collaborate.
Animal Welfare
Local charity “Saving Abandoned Fly-Grazing Equines” (SAFE) were also the recipient of a grant from the John Sykes Foundation in 2024. SAFE is run entirely by volunteers and is dedicated to rescuing and rehabilitating abandoned, abused, and neglected horses. The funding was used to purchase mud mats, an essential resource for ensuring the welfare of horses during wet and muddy conditions. SAFE works tirelessly to provide a safe haven for horses that have been abandoned or are in distress. The charity rescues these horses and offer them care, rehabilitation, and a chance for a new beginning. The mud mats purchased with the grant will significantly improve conditions for the horses under SAFE’s care. These mats help stabilise the ground, reducing mud build-up, preventing injuries to the horses, and providing them with a safer, cleaner, and more comfortable environment, enhancing their recovery and quality of life.
Looking Ahead to 2025
The John Sykes Foundation's commitment to enhancing the lives of those in need across Reading has made a significant impact in 2024. The Founder, John Sykes, added, “2024 has been a year of growth for our Foundation and the communities we serve. We are immensely proud of the partnerships we’ve built and the lives we’ve touched. As we look ahead to 2025, we remain committed to creating opportunities and providing vital support to help ensure Reading thrives and are already working with organisations with a view to providing a grant in the coming year.”
As the Foundation continues to foster long-term partnerships and create meaningful change, it invites other charities that are working to improve the community of Reading to reach out. If your organisation is in need of support, whether through funding or resources, please contact the John Sykes Foundation to explore how we can collaborate to make a lasting difference.
Applications for grants and funding opportunities are open through the link here.