Lot London Leaders of Tomorrow

LOT LONDON 2024 REPORT

The Leaders of Tomorrow (LOT) is a weekly after-school leadership and mentoring programme established in Southwark in 2002 that has supported over 2000 children and young people particularly from Black and Minority Ethnic communities achieve in their personal, social and academic development.

LOT LONDON IMMINENT CLOSURE

The last 4 years and in particular, during the Coronavirus Pandemic have been challenging for LOT students and the management of the charity. The pandemic eliminated any chance of recruiting new cohorts from the schools we have previously worked with as we were unable to meet with staff and undertake presentations. Also, whilst it was possible to have remote meetings with existing students via video/zoom and phone calls it did not provide the usual opportunity for face-to-face interaction, educational visits/residentials and other enrichment activities they previously enjoyed.

Other issues that impacted or restricted our effective operation included:

Loss of main funding from Southwark Council and Peckham Platform (23-24)
Loss of free meeting place
The reluctance of some parents to send their children to Peckham because of perceived safety concerns
Chairman’s resignation and long term illness of another Trustee
End of British Airways sponsorships to the USA annual National Black MBA Business Education Conference

It is therefore, with sadness, that at our last meeting held in April 2024, the Trustees took the difficult decision and agreed to the formal winding down and closure of LOT activities no later than 13 th December 2024; as it was no longer feasible to provide the high quality service LOT previously offered.

Achievements and Success (2002-2024)

Mentoring and leadership training to approximately 2500 children and young people
3 Full scholarships to prestigious independent schools to include First Black Head Girl at Westminster school.
LOT students have studied at Oxford, Kings, Warwick, Sussex, Canterbury, Surrey and other Russell Group Universities
13 years of sponsorship from British Airways
Attendance at 15 consecutive USA National Black MBA Business Education conference
LOT Executive Director nominated to be a Torch Bearer at the 2012 London Olympics
LOT Alumni/volunteer winning Aldi Next Big Thing-Entrepreneur supplier of Flake Bake Pattiesand also finalist of Community Corporate and Culture Young Entrepreneur for 2024.
Fundraised and sponsored 2 young learners from Durban, South Africa to attend the 2007 Black MBA USA Business Education Conference
LOT featured in various national media, e.g. BBC 2 Culture Show (2011), BBC Radio 4 Today (2011) program, Prospect magazine (2011), Daily Telegraph (2013), BBC Radio 4 FourThought (2013)

LOT volunteer mentor Lindsay Johns gave a keynote speech about the scheme at the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester in 2013 (and received a standing ovation).

“Being a volunteer mentor with LOT - and Vallin’s right hand man - since 2005 has undoubtedly been one of the greatest privileges of my life. Humbling, exhilarating, frustrating and time-consuming in equal measure, we gave our all because we believed in the young people and in trying to help them fulfil their human potential, whatever that might be, cognisant of the fact that “the saddest thing in life is unfulfilled potential.”

From raising the young people’s levels of academic achievement and consciously broadening their cultural horizons to helping them confound (as opposed to conform to) racial stereotypes and getting them to develop a fully functioning moral compass, our mission was multi-faceted. With a weekly vocabulary slot (because "language is power”), regular theatre trips, cultural outings, financial literacy sessions, and much, much more, all delivered with a “tough love” philosophy, LOT had a gargantuan impact on the lives of many Peckham teenagers over more than twenty years.

Working alongside Vallin was a seminal and life-changing experience for me. I don't think I have ever met a more fundamentally decent, selfless and altruistic man determined to uplift and ameliorate the lot of black people in Britain by attempting to build an educated black middle class from the grass roots up. We sung from the same hymn sheet and shared the same vision and I feel immensely grateful to have had the chance to be part of his scheme for so many years. A profoundly moral, noble and principled man, he is deserving of the very highest honours this country can bestow for the sheer number of young people’s lives he has enriched and whose life trajectories he has drastically improved.

Vallin takes the proverb “Service is the rent we pay for living” to new heights. Lindsay Johns (Volunteer)

A big thank you to our supporters and funders over the years

We would like to thank our partners and funders who have supported us since 2002. These included:

Southwark Education and Neighbourhood Fund
Peckham Platform
Participating schools and youth orginasations
British Airways
National Black MBA (USA)
Young Vic
National Theatre
Volunteers, Parents and LOT young people
The Gallery of African Arts

We will continue to stay in touch with Alumni who would like to offer individual mentoring support guidance and work placement opportunities. Current active volunteers will still be available to steer young people to other organisations providing similar services once offered by the Leaders of Tomorrow.

Vallin Miller
Executive Director
Date: 10-12-24

Thank you

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