John Thaw Foundation

Overview

The Foundation is a small charity that John Thaw set up before he died and is continued by his widow Sheila Hancock, alongside fellow Trustees Helen Cotterill, Julie Legrand, Abigail Thaw and Clare Vidal-Hall - and with an ad hoc administrator.

It is able to offer support to disadvantaged and underprivileged young people by funding carefully selected projects, run by a wide range of established organisations, as well as smaller grass roots groups, across the UK. These projects all help young people to fulfil their potential and broaden their horizons and aspirations, despite the many challenges they face.

A supported project may be aimed at young people who need help to get their life back on track; for instance, young offenders, or those at risk of offending, or excluded from school, increasingly an issue now even for primary school pupils. It might help young carers, or those who leave care at 18, only to find themselves entirely unsupported. Sometimes it is work in the field of conflict resolution; whether it is related to gang culture or bullying. We also fund projects with children who have complex mental or physical disabilities. More recently it found itself helping families struggling as a result of the pandemic. We like to offer opportunities to some children who will otherwise miss out on cultural enrichment, whether it be through lack of music provision in schools that cannot afford it, or for a trip or event that the school’s parent base simply couldn’t afford.

All these projects are aimed at developing young people’s sense of collaboration, creative thinking, and commitment; and will increase their confidence, skillset and social engagement.

The Foundation tries to give to smaller projects, where they can see the money will make a real difference. They are vigilant in their monitoring of outcomes, and wherever possible we ensure that they, or one of our committed volunteers, attend a performance, or presentation, or work in practise, so they can monitor the efficacy of the project in person.

Funding level

They are a very small Foundation and are likely to fund between £1-£3k.