We know that young people with special needs and their families have felt the lockdown restrictions even more than most.
Whether through having periods of no in-person school, reduced or even no activities and the general feeling of isolation brought about by the pandemic, this experience has been more acute for those children and young adults with special needs and also for their families.
Our foundation’s focus this year is very much on helping children and families bounce back from what we know has been a tough and isolating year for many. It is a priority for us to bring fun, learning, connection and community support to those children and families that need it most.
We have recently had a great opportunity to provide such support in a very direct way. The excellent programme run by Runnymede Special Needs Youth Club, also known as Brightlights, has recently received a grant from the Leus Family Foundation to support their work with young people with special needs in the Runnymede area.
The club is for children aged 5–13 years with special needs in Runnymede and surrounding areas. The children have disabilities ranging from autism, Asperger’s, Downs and moderate to severe learning difficulties, with some of them requiring one-to-one care.
Established in 1996, children with varying learning and physical disabilities can come to the club every Thursday evening for two hours during term time.
The youth club is known for providing a vibrant programme that includes the use of the soft play area, crafts and external outings, trips to places like the Isle of Wight, Disneyland Paris, Spain, Lapland UK, Paultons Park, Beale Park, and Legoland.
The club also holds a Christmas party every year where the children receive a visit and presents from Father Christmas. Easter eggs are also received.
Some of these activities have not been possible during the pandemic, but Brightlights has strived to support families during this time.
The charity arranged two trips to Heron Lake which allowed the children to take part in water sports and activities which they greatly enjoyed. These trips also gave the members and families the opportunity to meet up and see each other, which was most needed during this difficult time.
Lucy O’Neill, the chair of Brightlights, welcomed the contribution from the Leus Family Foundation, saying: “We are here to provide fun and recreation for young people with special needs, which can also play a helpful respite role for their parents and carers.
We are a safe environment for children who might have difficulty accessing other facilities within the local borough.
Our base at Egham Orbit Leisure Centre enables the use of the soft play area, arts and crafts activities, books and toys from our toy library. We occasionally hold family and friends evenings when parents and carers can meet and discuss family matters.
The contribution from the Leus Family Foundation will help us to keep bringing this fun and support to children and their families and we’re very grateful.”
Identifying and supporting those in our community who perhaps have suffered the most during the pandemic and therefore need our support will continue to be a major focus for the Leus Family Foundation.
It will take years, if not decades, for the world to fully understand the impact of the pandemic on our young people. In many cases they have made sacrifices in terms of education and social development in order to keep the most vulnerable safe.
Our Foundation is strongly motivated to counteract any damage to them by supporting initiatives that enrich their lives and support their families.
From children’s hospitals to fallen police officers to ‘Buzzy’ pain distraction, Dmitry Leus’s foundation helps dozens of good causes. It’s been quite a journey for the entrepreneur and former European fencing champion…
Despite growing up in humble circumstances in 1970s Turkmenistan – then part of the Soviet Union – Dmitry Leus’s childhood was rich in adventure and imbued with a strong sense of community. So Leus, founder and CEO of London-based property developer Imperium Investments, understands better than most the importance of supporting and inspiring children and young people, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds – indeed, he founded the Leus Family Foundation to do just that.
Recently awarded official charitable status by the Charity Commission for England and Wales, the foundation’s work has become even more important during the Covid-19 pandemic as experts warn that a generation of children, particularly those from poorer households, could see their life chances negatively impacted by the privations they are currently suffering.
“This is not an easy time to be young,” says Leus, father to four sons. “Youngsters in the UK are learning at home with no in-person schooling, unemployment figures are rising and those job losses are impacting families. What a tough time to be leaving school or university and trying to make your way into a career. I empathise with young people at this time.”
One cause that is close to Leus’s heart is encouraging children to take part in sport. As a teenager, he was in the Turkmen National Fencing Team, becoming European champion at the age of 17.
“My business mindset was created in the gymnasiums and competition halls of my teenage years and the spirit that it forged is what helps me through all other aspects of my life,” he says. “This is how the character is formed.”
Leus is patron and honorary president of Brixton Fencing Club in southeast London, which is funding free fencing lessons for children from low-income families and organising tournaments.
“I want to get more kids involved – kids from all walks of life,” Leus says. “I believe that there is a future European, maybe even Olympic, champion in Brixton and I want to find them.”
Full House: Leus at a fundraising event for the St George’s Hospital Charity at the House of Commons
The foundation, which Leus leads alongside directors Michael Wynne-Parker KCLJ and Manjit K Gill MBE, also has a longstanding relationship with St George’s Hospital Charity which supports the work of St George’s Hospital in Tooting, south London. In March 2019, Leus funded child-friendly pain distraction devices for every child’s bed in St George’s – each Buzzy, as the devices are called, comes in cheerful, cartoonish form, for example a bumble bee or an insect, and, when placed against the skin, vibrates to distract attention from blood being taken or injections administered.
At the height of the pandemic, in December 2020, a new look Children’s Garden was unveiled at St George’s, funded by the foundation and bringing some much-needed colour in the bleakest of midwinters. Play areas have been extended and improved with a new slide and better wheelchair access, while a new seating area is being installed.
“This garden will lift spirits and hopefully provide moments of joy and relaxation between treatments,” Leus says.
As well as strengthening existing relationships through the pandemic, the Leus Family Foundation has added to its philanthropic portfolio, forging new collaborations.
It responded to urgent appeals from charities for the Royal Free Hospital, Princess Royal University Hospital and St George’s Hospital to support doctors and nurses on the frontline through care packages, mental health provision and the creation of respite spaces for staff. Leus also donated to Runnymede Food Bank, which he visited in May 2020.
He is also an ambassador for HealthProm, a UK-based charity working to support vulnerable children and their families in eastern Europe, Central Asia and Afghanistan, and Patron of Binti International, a charity whose vision is to ensure every girl and woman in the world has menstrual dignity. And, as a policeman’s son, he feels a personal affiliation to Care of Police Survivors (COPS), a charity dedicated to supporting the families of police officers and staff who have lost their lives in the line of duty.
The Leus Family Foundation is now looking for further opportunities to help where and when it’s needed and, in 2021, plans to bolster its organisation with people who have extensive experience in the charity sector.
“Having received official charitable status affirms our commitment to our causes and those we work with in the future,” Leus says. “It is a joy that our foundation is able to help so many young people and it is so rewarding to see the direct benefit that our support has brought to their lives.”
For a full list of charity partners and further information on projects undertaken by The Leus Family Foundation, please visit here
Dmitry Leus, of the Leus Family Foundation, is working hard to combat the aftermath of the lockdown.
As the UK’s impressive vaccination rate continues and the roadmap towards the country opening up again is visible, if not entirely fixed, the aftermath of this locked down year is already on the mind of Dmitry Leus.
The London-based entrepreneur and former European fencing champion heads the Leus Family Foundation, which was recently awarded official charitable status by the Charity Commission for England and Wales, and the welfare of young people and their families is at the heart of the foundation’s mission.
The Leus Family Foundation was founded long before COVID-19 hit and the focus has always been on young people. But the intense impact of the pandemic on the wellbeing of young people has added urgency to the Foundation’s work.
Experts have made very clear the impact of the pandemic on the young. Dame Rachel de Souza, the children’s commissioner for England, recently told The Times that although children may not have fallen ill in large numbers from Coronavirus, they have “paid a huge price for the measures we’ve had to take to contain it”.
In the same Times report, Professor Russell Viner, president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health and a member of Sage, warned of the potentially catastrophic “collateral damage” to children.
“There’s a real question about how much of that is a wound that heals and how much of it will lead to long-term scarring,” he explained.
“We can talk about what we think the loss of education will do; we can say what we think the harms are around mental health. But it’s also the more subtle stuff. Have we shifted a whole generation towards anxiety and being more risk-averse? Have we shifted a whole generation away from physical contact, and all the things that come with human contact that bring benefits to us? Those are all the things we don’t know.”
The toll that the pandemic has taken on the younger generation is worrying to Dmitry Leus.
He said: “This has been a tough year for everyone. But I think our young people might be the ones suffering the longest lasting impact of this unusual year. They are still developing and their characters are still forming.
What we know for sure is that we have babies who were born into a lockdown situation, toddlers who have never seen anyone outside their home without a mask, teens who have had their wings clipped just as they should be socialising independently and university students listening to lectures on Zoom in their childhood bedrooms.
We do not yet know the full impact that this isolated year will have had on them. We will still be trying to understand that in years to come. What we do know is that this generation will need our support.”
The practical challenges that the young generation faces are a priority for him: “Imagine being 18-years-old right now. Or 21. Finishing school or university. It must feel a little bleak. How has this crazy year affected your university chances? Will you be able to get a job when you graduate, given the post-pandemic economic difficulties we are likely to endure for years to come?”
However, it seems his approach is one of solutions and finding answers: “Our Foundation’s response to this problem will be to continue to target where we see the most need. Our sporting programme, helping disadvantaged children in South London to experience fencing and all the confidence-building and discipline that sporting life can deliver is one example. This is the kind of area where we can give the young a real boost.
“We know that the pandemic conditions have been extra tough for families with children with chronic illness, so supporting causes like St George’s Hospital Charity will remain a priority.”
At the height of the pandemic, the Leus Family Foundation responded to urgent appeals from charities for the Royal Free Hospital, Princess Royal University Hospital and St George’s Hospital to support doctors and nurses on the frontline through care packages, mental health provision and the creation of respite spaces for staff. It also donated to Runnymede Food Bank.
Founder of the Leus Family Foundation, Dimitry Leus FRSA, is also honorary president of Brixton Fencing Club (Image: Leus Family Foundation)
Dmitry said: “Those collaborations will continue to be important for us, as sadly there will still be hungry families as we climb out of this pandemic situation and we want to help where we can, especially to improve the life opportunities for children.
“We know that we’re all in for some challenging times ahead. The most important thing we can do is to stay positive and always look for ways in which we can make a difference. For our Foundation, that means targeting young people and their families to ensure that we build for the future by creating better chances for the next generation”.
He concludes on a characteristically positive note: “We do know that resilience is one of the most important qualities that we can have in this modern world and I have no doubt that this young generation has been building their resilience throughout the pandemic.
“But they need a helping hand now and we owe it to them. Essentially, they sacrificed a lot to help protect the old and the vulnerable and now we need to repair any damage and help this young generation.”
Dmitry Leus gained the fellowship honour in July 2020
London-based philanthropist Dmitry Leus has become a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, known more formally as the Royal Society of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA).
The CEO and founder of Imperium Investments and Imperium Developers gained his fellowship in July 2020.
Mr Leus’ educational background is in the fields of banking and economics and he has 25 years’ experience in finance and investment in the UK and overseas.
Since 2018, he has been an ambassador for the UK charity HealthProm, which works to support vulnerable children and their families.
Mr Leus is also the honorary president and patron of Brixton Fencing Club, a role he has held since 2017, as well as a recognised children’s appeal supporter of St George’s Hospital Charity, an organisation he has been supporting since 2018.
Established in 2018, the Leus Family Foundation also facilitates many of Mr Leus’ philanthropic efforts on behalf of children and young people.
The RSA is based on a belief in a world where everyone is able to participate in creating a better future.
The organisation, through its ideas, research and its membership of fellows, forms a global community of proactive problem solvers, sharing powerful ideas, carrying out cutting-edge research and building networks and opportunities for people to collaborate, influence and demonstrate practical solutions to realise change.
Mr Leus commented: “I am delighted to become a fellow at the RSA. I am inspired by what the organisation has achieved over the past 260 years and their focus on creative learning and development, public services and communities, and economy, enterprise and manufacturing.
“My fellowship will be a great opportunity to build connections with like-minded people who share my commitment to building a brighter future for our children.
“There is an innovative sector to be developed, where business and charity meet to support our young people, especially in these challenging times.”
The Royal Free Hospital, Princess Royal University Hospital and St George’s Hospital in London have received thousands of pounds for ventilators, critical care capacity, PPE and testing capacity in an act of solidarity by British company Imperium Investments.
The influx of coronavirus patients has increased five to seven times in London in the last few weeks, and chief executives are alarmed by the speed at which hospital beds are filling up in London.
The problem has been exacerbated because up to fifty percent staff sickness rates with suspected coronavirus or in vulnerable groups. According to Chris Hopson, Chief Executive Officer of NHS Providers, London hospitals are facing a “continuous tsunami” of coronavirus patients, and some of them are likely to be overwhelmed in a few days due to staff sickness rates rising. “London CEOs saying they urgently want a lot more of everything – staff, ventilators, critical care capacity, PPE, testing capacity – but they recognise their job is to do absolutely the best with what they have got and that’s what they are focused on,” he added.
Trusts and the charities of many hospitals are asking the public to lend their support to staff as quickly as possible via their funds. Imperium Investments, a London-based company has responded to appeals to help tackle the problem.
The company has donated thousands of pounds to hospitals in England, which will provide the necessary support to protect nurses, doctors and other health care workers fighting the virus on the front line.
The company posted on its Facebook page where Dmitry Leus, CEO and Founder of the Imperium Investments, said: “Old and young people are losing, risking and having their lives put in jeopardy because of this awful pandemic. I feel that now more than ever, it is my moral duty to help where I can.”
Mr Leus added: “While I have no experience or knowledge in medicine, I am able to donate so that doctors can continue to fight for me, for my family, and for all of us. I sincerely hope those who see this and are in the fortunate position to be able to support and protect our frontline heroes fight Covid-19 do so in any way they can”.
The Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust has thanked the company by saying: “We are extremely grateful for the incredibly generous donation from Imperium Investments in support of our Covid-19 Emergency Fund. They have responded resoundingly to our public appeal and their gift will make a tangle difference to our critical work at this time. From the provision of care packages at the end of a very long shift, to psychological support and the creation of physical respite spaces for our staff, Imperium’s donation is directly helping to meet the needs of our local NHS heroes”.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Chris Hopson added: “Staff are struggling with the explosion of demand in seriously ill patients. They are saying it’s the number arriving and the speed with which they are arriving and how ill they are. They talk about wave after wave after wave. The words that are used to me are that it’s a continuous tsunami. As one said to me, it’s much bigger and large numbers with a greater degree of stretch than you can ever have possibly imagined.”
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