Disadvantaged youngsters enjoyed a week in Cyprus, thanks to the Harrow Club and the Leus Family Foundation (Image: Harrow Club)
The fun-filled annual event is aimed at allowing disadvantaged young people to experience foreign travel
A group of young people from West London enjoyed a fun-filled week in Cyprus, thanks to a trip organised by the Harrow Club with funding from the Leus Family Foundation.
This is the second time that the two organisations have worked together to provide this trip, which has become an annual event aimed at allowing a group of young people the experience of foreign travel, as well as a packed programme of outdoor sports and activities.
The group enjoyed windsurfing, snorkelling, canoe lessons, snorkelling, a jeep safari, a Yellow Submarine trip and a visit to Ayia Napa WaterWorld water park.
All flights, meals and accommodation were provided by the Leus Family Foundation.
Working with the community since 1883
The West London youngsters relished the chance to experience a new country and culture (Image: Harrow Club)
The Harrow Club has been working with the local community since 1883 and aims to address needs among young people related to disadvantage and poverty.
The club’s activities range from sports clubs to drama and dance.
Its network of clubs includes Harrow, Chelsea, Old Oak, Sands End, White City and Lancaster Road, and welcomes children and young people between the ages of eight and 21 years old.
Some 80 per cent are eligible for free school meals, 90 per cent are from ethnic minority backgrounds and 20 per cent have been diagnosed with learning difficulties or disability issues.
The Leus Family Foundation has previously supported the Harrow Club with the donation of a minibus and the provision of fencing lessons and equipment.
‘Range of benefits’
Dmitry Leus with the youngsters at Ayia Napa WaterWorld water park (Image: Harrow Club)
Michael Defoe, CEO of the Harrow Club, spoke about the impact the Cyprus trip had on the young people attending.
He said: “We are delighted to work again with the Leus Family Foundation to make this annual trip possible for our young people.
“Some of them have never left the UK before, so participating in a programme of sports in Cyprus brings a range of benefits, from confidence-building, teamwork and the experience of a new country and culture.”
Dmitry Leus, founder of the Leus Family Foundation, added: “I had the pleasure of meeting this fantastic group of young people at the Ayia Napa WaterWorld water park.
“It’s an honour for our foundation to assist in bringing this impactful experience to them and to see them fully embracing a fun experience.”
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From foodbanks to youth clubs, organisations across Britain are getting a boost from a body with just one mission: to make a positive change in children’s lives
The hopes and dreams of future generations have never seemed more relevant.
With the cost of living rising, and families across the country feeling the crunch, it is especially vital that children of all backgrounds are given the opportunity to help shape the future. And that’s the principle at the heart of the Leus Family Foundation.
Founded in 2018, the organisation supports disadvantaged and vulnerable young people throughout the UK, helping in settings including hospitals, charities, foodbanks and youth clubs.
“As a society we should be investing in every child. Every child deserves opportunity and to feel valued. If we invest in children, we are investing in all of our futures,” says founder Dmitry Leus. “We know that some children – whether they are born into poverty, have special needs or suffer an illness – need an extra boost in order to fulfil their potential. That is our mission at the foundation: to make a positive impact on their lives and to give them a sense of possibility.”
Take the Bright Lights Youth Club in Surrey, for instance, which caters for children aged five to thirteen who have special needs in the boroughs of Runnymede and Spelthorne. The children here live with moderate-to-severe learning difficulties, autism, Asperger’s and Down’s, with some requiring one-to-one care. Children come to the club every Thursday evening for two hours during term time.
Club kids: the foundation helps fund specialist youth centres all over Britain
Now, funding from the Leus Family Foundation means that they enjoy additional toys and facilities, including sensory light equipment, special chairs, mats, computers and books. And thanks to the foundation, Bright Lights has been able to stay open during the summer holidays for the first time, and the children have been swimming at nearby Heron Lake and have visited the local Jump Giants trampoline centre.
“It is especially meaningful for us to be able to provide these outings, knowing how much pleasure the children will get from these fun experiences,” adds Leus, who has four sons of his own. “We shouldn’t underestimate children’s need for fun and play and the healing effects it can have.”
This philosophy undoubtedly has its roots in the founder’s own childhood in Turkmenistan. Back then, there were only two reliable escape routes for children seeking more than their meagre birthright – science or sport.
“Turkmenistan was incredibly poor,” he says. “The shops were usually empty, so bread and margarine were our staples, and on a lucky day, canned meat. There was no hot running water, only cold, switched on for 90 minutes a day.”
It wasn’t only money that was tight – hope and aspiration were in short supply too. But encouraged by a local fencing coach, young Dmitry picked up a foil and discovered a natural ability.
Fencing transformed my life, I love to see the same positive impact taking place with children
“I trained hard, striving to be the best,” Leus says. “I was motivated, I wanted to get on and, while I did spend time hanging around the streets as a teenager, it was significantly less than kids without a focus like fencing.”
By the time he became European Fencing Champion at the age of 17, his training had shown him how important it is for young people to have the tools and opportunities to improve their lives and learning.
It’s an ethos he’s also now sharing with disadvantaged kids in Brixton, south-east London. As patron and honorary president of Brixton Fencing Club, the foundation funds free lessons and equipment for children from low-income families and organises tournaments. The Imperium Sessions are designed to encourage participation by children from backgrounds who might not otherwise have access to a sport like fencing.
“There is a future Olympic champion in Brixton,” Leus says confidently. “Sport can play a transformative role in a person’s life. It is not only about excelling at the sport itself. For our foundation to help in any small way to get kids exercising, building confidence and learning the skills and discipline that we gain from sport – for me that is incredibly meaningful. Fencing transformed my own life as a child and I love to see the same impact taking place with children in London.”
Family values: Dmitry Leus, pictured with his father, grew up in Turkmenistan in the former Soviet Union
It’s attitudes like these that inspired the gift of a minibus to the Harrow Club in west London, which offers sports, drama and dance to more than 500 children, refugees and young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. Some 80 per cent of the participants are eligible for free school meals, 90 per cent are from ethnic minority backgrounds and 20 per cent have been diagnosed with learning difficulties or disability issues. And from September, the club will be providing free fencing lessons, with the Leus Family Foundation donating equipment and funding a professional coach. The bus will be vital in getting children to and from classes.
The common theme throughout all of the foundation’s work is that each child deserves the best start that society can give them.
“A child does not get to choose their circumstances,” Leus says. “And when they suffer illness or poverty or disability, we all have a responsibility to boost their opportunities.”
With altruism fired by empathy and experience, that’s a responsibility Leus has woven into the very backbone of the Leus Family Foundation.
The Harrow Club, which provides youth clubs and other support for disadvantaged children and young people in London, has announced that they will be providing fencing lessons from September, with the help of the Leus Family Foundation, a charitable organisation founded by businessman Dmitry Leus.
Fencing has been added to the activities offered by the Harrow Club and the lessons will be available for children aged 8-18. The Leus Family Foundation has supported the initiative by donating the necessary equipment and helping to find and fund a professional coach. The lessons will begin on Friday 9th September, from 4-9pm.
Credit: Leus Family Foundation
This gives the children of all ages a chance to try the classes, as the youth club for the Juniors is from 3.30-6pm, and the older children (13 onwards) is from 6-9pm. The coach will run four sessions during this time, with the children learning the basic skills, positions, footwork and target practice. If enough children are confirmed and would like to continue, the Harrow Club, with the support of the Leus Family Foundation, will look to setting the lessons across two days a week for different age groups. After three weeks of basic training they will progress to lessons with the equipment.
Michael Defoe, CEO of The Harrow Club, spoke about what the impact of the new fencing lessons will be: “The Harrow Club is thrilled to further diversify the opportunities we provide for children to develop and learn new skills. We are hoping many young people will sign up to learn fencing. It’s a great sport in itself, as well as being ideal for building the wider life skills of confidence, mental focus and resilience.”
Dmitry Leus, the founder of the Leus Foundation and a former European Fencing Champion, explained the significance of this new initiative: “The impact that fencing can have on a child is immense. They not only learn a great sport. They also learn strategic thinking. They find a very constructive way to channel any aggression and they enter a new community full of new role models and opportunity.
Credit: Leus Family Foundation
“All children should be able to access this sport as it offers so much and we are so pleased we can build access to this sport for the most disadvantaged children in West London.”
The Harrow Club has been working with the local community since 1883. Their aim is to address needs amongst young people related to disadvantage and poverty. The Club’s activities range from sports clubs to drama and dance. Their network of clubs includes Harrow, Chelsea, Old Oak, Sands End, White City and Lancaster Road and welcomes children and young people between the ages of 8 and 21 years old, of whom 80 percent are eligible for free school meals, 90 percent are from ethnic minority backgrounds and 20 percent have been diagnosed with learning difficulties or disability issues.
The trip will enable 10 club members to participate in a range of outdoor adventure activities and experience another country and culture
In a few days, the UK will be celebrating Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee with an extended bank holiday weekend.
And for 10 young people from West London, an even bigger treat is in store, as the Leus Family Foundation has provided funding for The Harrow Club to take some of its attendees for a fun-filled trip to Cyprus.
The trip to Cyprus will take place in early June, with 10 youngsters and four Harrow Club staff members flying to Cyprus, to participate in a special programme that includes windsurfing, canoe lessons, snorkelling, a jeep safari and a visit to Ayia Napa Waterworld water park.
All flights, meals and accommodation will be provided by the Leus Family Foundation.
The Harrow Club has been working with the local community since 1883, and aims to address needs amongst young people related to disadvantage and poverty. The club’s activities range from sports clubs to drama and dance.
Its network of clubs includes Harrow, Chelsea, Old Oak, Sands End, White City and Lancaster Road, and welcomes children and young people between the ages of eight and 21 years old, of whom 80 per cent are eligible for free school meals, 90 per cent are from ethnic minority backgrounds and 20 per cent have been diagnosed with learning difficulties or disability issues.
The Leus Family Foundation has previously supported The Harrow Club with the donation of a minibus and is also working to bring fencing lessons to the club.
The Cyprus trip will include a visit to Ayia Napa Waterworld water park
Speaking about the Cyprus trip, Dmitry Leus, founder of the Leus Family Foundation, said: “We are so pleased to be able to assist The Harrow Club in offering this adventure trip to these 10 terrific young people.
“It is part of our foundation’s current strategy to do all we can to provide opportunity to the most vulnerable children who have suffered more than most during the pandemic.
“The purpose of this trip is for these young people to experience a different country, some of them for the first time, and especially be exposed to outdoor and sporting activities they might not otherwise get to try. And honestly, we also really want them to have some fun!”
Michael Defoe, CEO of The Harrow Club, spoke about what the impact of the Cyprus trip will be for the young people attending: “We are grateful to the Leus Family Foundation for their support in making this trip happen.
“This will be a very important experience for our young people, from the minute they board the plane, to having the opportunity to experience water-based sporting activities, as well as the chance to see another country and culture.
“For the majority of the group, this will be the first time they have left the UK.”
Dmitry Leus, the founder of the Leus Family Foundation, discusses his charitable foundation’s post-pandemic priorities in supporting the most vulnerable children
As the UK moves into a different phase of the pandemic, one charity is reflecting on its priorities as it continues its work to support the most vulnerable children. The Leus Family Foundation has identified recovery for children from the strains and isolation of the pandemic as a key focus for its work in 2022 and beyond.
When the pandemic was at its worst, the Foundation’s priority was of course on those most urgent situations. For example, the Foundation donated to the Imperial Health Charity’s Covid-19 Relief Fund which supports the five hospitals that form part of the Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust – Charing Cross, Hammersmith, Queen Charlotte’s & Chelsea, St Mary’s and the Western Eye. This donation was given to assist staff on the front lines, as well as patients and families affected by Covid-19.
A similar donation was made to the Royal Free London hospital charity.
The Foundation was also happy to step in and assist hospitals such as St George’s Hospital Charity when they needed adaptors for the iPads given to patients and palliative care nurses who had to isolate preventatively during the worst periods of the pandemic.
The Foundation’s emergency response was not limited to hospitals. It also chose to support the Runnymede Foodbank, to assist families whose situation had further deteriorated due to the economic impact of the pandemic.
Plans for the coming year
Dmitry Leus explains that there is now a slight shift in priorities, he said: “In 2020 and even 2021, a lot of the grants we gave were essentially emergency response. Whether the provision of PPE or enough food for a family for three days, we focused on the most acute needs. That was absolutely the right thing to do at the time. At present, as we take a step back and see the toll the pandemic has taken on children, we see that there are now long term areas in which we need to assist young people.
“Whether through poverty, illness or special needs, the UK’s most vulnerable children were naturally the most at risk in terms of suffering a decrease in their quality of life during the pandemic. If you’re very poor, then a lack of in-person school or attendance at a youth club hits you much harder than if you are more privileged, as that school or youth club was playing an even more significant role for you. And these hardships occurred when these children are still growing up, when their brains are still developing and when they are in great need of opportunity and social interaction.”
Grants to assist recovery
It is for this reason that the Leus Family Foundation is prioritising grants that support work to assist children in their recovery from pandemic isolation.
Leus said: “It was enormously meaningful to see the Bright Lights attendees joyful and carefree at Jump Giants.” (Image: Leus Family Foundation)
One example is the support given to Bright Lights Youth Club. Bright Lights caters for children aged five to 13 who have special needs in the boroughs of Runnymede, Spelthorne and surrounding North West Surrey areas.
Lockdowns hit children with special needs and their families especially hard. Even without a pandemic, it can sometimes be more difficult for those with special needs and their families to access community facilities. Lockdown isolation was an especially lonely time for some young people with special needs and their families. That is why the Leus Family Foundation was so pleased to support Bright Lights with funding to stay open for the first time during the summer holidays, purchase new books, toys and equipment and perhaps the biggest highlight, a privatised visit to Jump Giants trampoline centre. Leus said: “It was like an antidote to lockdown to see them happily enjoying safe access to the trampolines. We shouldn’t underestimate children’s need for fun and play and the healing effects it can have after a period of time when life was more limited.”
There is a similar philosophy behind the Leus Family Foundation’s support for The Harrow Club in West London.
The Club’s activities range from sports clubs to drama and dance. The network of clubs welcomes children and young people between the ages of eight and 21 years old, of whom 80% are eligible for free school meals, 90% are from ethnic minority backgrounds and 20% have been diagnosed with learning difficulties or disability issues.
Leus explains that these are the children who have suffered deeply during the pandemic and are most in need of support after a prolonged deprivation of opportunity and social interaction when facilities were closed.
Leus commented: “We were so pleased to be able to provide them with a minibus and we are currently working to replicate our successful fencing lessons for state school children in Brixton at The Harrow Club. And our next project is to fly ten Harrow Club members and four staff to Cyprus around the Jubilee weekend for a special programme of water sports. The poorest children need opportunity, the chance to develop new skills, build resilience and really feel valued and gain confidence. We admire the Harrow Club’s approach and are proud to support them.”
Leus himself was born in Turkmenistan, the poorest country in the former Soviet Union. It’s clear that his childhood has been a strong influence on his charitable giving: “If a child is disadvantaged and we take the time to give them an opportunity and show them that we believe in them, this can have a powerfully positive impact on the course of their life. We have a whole generation that has lived through an unusual time and it’s our responsibility to help the most vulnerable among them.”
“It’s fantastic to think a whole new area of London will now be offered this via The Harrow Club.”
The new initiative for local state school children will open up the world of fencing to disadvantaged young people in West London
By Sarah Brazendale
The new classes, with between 10 and 15 children, at The Harrow Club will be twice weekly and will be aimed at children aged between 8 and 14 years old
The Leus Family Foundation today confirmed that they will build upon their successful Brixton fencing programme for local state school children in a new initiative with The Harrow Club, to allow disadvantaged young people in West London to also benefit from the sporting and life skills that fencing offers.
The Leus Family Foundation’s support has included the purchase of fencing equipment and the provision of a coaching team, with expert teachers from Brixton Fencing Club coming to The Harrow Club to run the classes. The new equipment that has been purchased for the Harrow Club includes Épée weapons, masks, scoreboards, jackets and trousers and pistes branded with The Harrow Club logo.
Michael Defoe, CEO of The Harrow Club, spoke about what the impact of the new fencing lessons will be: “The Harrow Club is thrilled to further diversify the opportunities we provide for children to develop and learn new skills. We are hoping many young people will sign up to learn fencing. It’s a great sport in itself, as well as being ideal for building the wider life skills of confidence, mental focus and resilience.”
Dmitry Leus, the founder of the Leus Foundation and a former European Fencing Champion, explained the significance of this new initiative: “The impact that fencing can have on a child is immense. They not only learn a great sport. They also learn strategic thinking. They find a very constructive way to channel any aggression and they enter a new community full of new role models and opportunities. All children should be able to access this sport as it offers so much.
“We are so pleased that the Leus Family Foundation can bring together two great institutions like the Brixton Fencing Club and The Harrow Club and that in partnership we can build access to this sport for the most disadvantaged children in West London.”
The Harrow Club
The Harrow Clubhas been working with the local community since 1883. It aims to address needs amongst young people related to disadvantage and poverty. The Club’s activities range from sports clubs to drama and dance. Its network of clubs includes Harrow, Chelsea, Old Oak, Sands End, White City and Lancaster Road and welcomes children and young people between the ages of eight and 21 years old, of whom 80% are eligible for free school meals, 90% are from ethnic minority backgrounds and 20% have been diagnosed with learning difficulties or disability issues.
Christopher Tidmarsh QC, Committee Chair of Brixton Fencing Club, added: “The Brixton Fencing Club is delighted to work in partnership with The Harrow Club and the Leus Family Foundation to bring a fencing programme to young people in West London.
“We have seen the great benefits that local children from state schools in Brixton have gained from participating in fencing lessons. It goes far beyond the sporting skills they develop. The children grow in confidence and build life skills. Through the club community and accessing competitions, they also widen their social interactions and meet new peers and role models.
“It’s fantastic to think a whole new area of London will now be offered this via The Harrow Club.”
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