Call out for sponsors to be part of prestigious third Young Ealing Foundation Awards taking place in September

The third Young Ealing Foundation Awards (YEF Awards), which celebrates young people across the borough, is taking place on 19 September 2024 and organisers are inviting local businesses to be a part of the prestigious event by becoming a sponsor. 

The awards will be held at Greenford Town Hall and is organised by the Young Ealing Foundation (YEF).

There are 14 awards available for sponsorship as well as headline sponsorship opportunities and cover categories from Young Entrepreneur of the Year to Overcoming Adversity.

Sponsorship opportunities start from £850 and businesses who would like to be a sponsor can email: tanya@youngealingfoundation.org.uk

The awards provides an opportunity for local businesses to help showcase and celebrate their commitment to supporting young people across the borough and as in previous events more than 200 people are expected to be there. The night will also feature live performance, speeches and networking opportunities.

Support from across the borough includes Ealing Central & Acton MP Rupa Huq MP and BBC Radio 1Xtra’s Fee Mak.

Speaking to EALING.NEWS, Tanya Taylor, head of communications and business development for Young Ealing Foundation said: “Since our first ever YEF Awards in 2022, each year has been bigger and better. We’ve received more nominations for each category, even more attendees to the ceremony (over 200 last year and this year’s venue has a capacity of 400) and even more local young talent performing on the night. It really is the event of the year for the borough and we want it to be able to make it as big and as inclusive as possible, but we can’t do this alone. Sponsorship will enable us to make it as big as we believe it needs to be.”

Ms Taylor also spoke of the importance of the awards and in recognising young people and those who help young people in our borough. She said: “Unfortunately, we live in an age where the narrative around young people in the media is largely negative. Our borough is home to over 100,000 children and young people and, through our work, we know that young people are doing brilliant things each and every day. From overcoming adversity to positively impacting their local community, we believe these young people and their achievements are worth celebrating.”

Ms Taylor added: “It is also an opportunity to recognise the unsung heroes of our community – all the brilliant people doing important work supporting our children and young people in the borough. The YEF Awards is the event of the year, where everyone from across our communities can come together to celebrate. There is no other event like it. It is also a platform to showcase local young talent, of which Ealing has in abundance, but opportunities to see them perform locally are scarce.

According to YEF for those under 25: “The focus for these awards is on children and young people’s individual journeys, and how they have had an impact on others, whether friends, family, peers of professionals working with them. These awards can be for individuals or small groups and recognise leadership skills.”

The under 25 award categories are:

Mental Health Champion of the year
For a young person or group who have supported, inspired, and empowered others to achieve good mental health.

Young Activist of the year
For a young person or group who have supported, inspired, and empowered others by standing up for something they believe in, and speaking out to decision makers.

Young Creative leader of the year
For a young person or group who have supported, inspired, and empowered others through cultural, creative and arts projects.

Young Sports leader of the year
For a young person or group who have supported, inspired, and empowered others through sports and physical activities.

Young Entrepreneur of the year
For a young person or group who have achieved great results over the year, who can inspire us all!

Young Volunteer of the year
For a young person or group who have supported, inspired, and empowered others by giving up their time as a leader supporting other children and young people.

Overcoming Adversity Award
For a young person who has developed resilience, positivity and inspired others in how they have overcome adversity in their life to move towards a more positive outlook.

For those supporting young people the awards are:

Employability Project of the Year
For a project that has supported children and young people into the world of work or has supported them to develop specific skills to move them towards future careers.

Mental Wellbeing Project of the Year
For a project that has supported children and young people towards good mental health, whether through therapeutic services and support, or through more general wellbeing activities.

Physical Wellbeing Project of the Year
For a project that has supported children and young people to be physically active where they might not otherwise have had the opportunity.

Creative Project of the Year
For a project which has engaged children and young people in creative activities, whether through literature, visual arts or performing arts.

Education project of the year
For a project which has supported and developed children and young people through activities which support them to better achieve academically

Disability project of the year
For a project which has provided outstanding and inclusive opportunities for children and young people who are physically disabled or have special educational needs, or both.

Youth Professional of the Year
For an outstanding individual, whether paid or voluntary, who has gone above and beyond to support children and young people in the local area.

YEF said of this category: “These categories are for organisations who have delivered projects or core services benefiting children and young people aged 0-25 in the London Borough of Ealing. They can be projects targeting specific groups, or services available to any children and young people.”

Photos from the Young Ealing Foundation Awards 2023