Your donation will be matched
To support families and children living in poverty
by Level Trust in Luton, England, United Kingdom
This project has been nominated by Momentum Broker Solutions in the Aviva UK Broker Community Fund in 2024.
Level Trust provide support to children and young people in Luton who are living in- and affected by- household poverty which can lead to a detrimental effect on their education and learning. Research demonstrates that, without support, these children are more likely than peers not living in poverty to fail to reach their academic potential, less likely to achieve their aspirations, disengage with their learning and be at greater susceptibility of falling into antisocial behaviour. Put simply, growing up poor significantly reduces the life chances of children and young people.
In 2024
We supported children on 11,009 occasions, 2,208 more than the previous year.
We did this by providing:
We anticipate that the demand will continue to increase, and we expect to help approximately 12,000 children over the next year.
Our Vision - Level Trust's aim is to remove the barriers that poverty brings to a child's learning. We do this by providing children aged 3 -16 and living in poverty with the things they need to remove the barriers to be able to fully participate in their education and the opportunities they need to be engaged learners and achieve their aspirations. We currently help children by running two key projects: -
The Uniform Exchange provides pre-owned school uniform to children through our shop situated in Luton Town Centre and our fully accessible online shop. Families can use the exchange by swapping school uniform they no longer need, or they have outgrown, for school uniform they need, all for free. Children with no uniform to swap are referred by one of our community partners to receive uniform without exchange.
The Learning Locker situated adjacent to the Uniform Exchange shop unit provides learning resources including books, stationery, maths equipment, educational games, refurbished laptops, new school shoes, winter coats and hygiene products. Children who need support are referred to us by one of our 125 plus community partners.
Funding is needed to support our core projects, The Uniform Exchange and The Learning Locker. The provision of these essentials can ensure that children affected by poverty have whatever they need to fully participate and get the most from their education and learning.
A donation of £20,000 could be spent as follows:
£5,000 - replacing school uniform to replenish sufficient stock to meet the demand
£7,000 - to provide new school shoes and winter coats
£8,000 - on learning resources, including books, stationery, craft and maths equipment and materials, refurbished electronic learning devices, and hygiene products.
"Level Trust are playing an intrinsic part in helping some of our most struggling families. Level Trust has been instrumental in ensuring that every student in need at our school has access to essential educational resources by providing free school uniform across all year groups. This initiative has notably alleviated financial strain on families who are struggling. Level Trust has generously allowed free school shoe vouchers to support student. By enabling students to acquire suitable footwear, this initiative has enhances their comfort, safety, and confidence within the school environment, positively impacting overall student wellbeing." Senior Leader, a Luton High School
Our Team - Level Trust is led by Jennie White, CEO. Jennie was a senior leader in education for many years and brings strong leadership and direction to the charity. The staff team are highly experienced in supporting families and working with volunteers. All involved are passionate about the work and committed to helping children affected by poverty. Many have lived experience of growing up in similar environments to the families Level Trust supports, bringing empathy and understanding to the delivery of our services and in helping families and their children in a thoughtful, caring and sensitive way.
This project offers rewards in return for your donation.