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Our mission is to create brighter futures for children and young people. We do this by providing fostering, residential and support services where children and young people can feel safe and cared for. We support them to make positive relationships which give them the confidence to succeed.
A young person from our children’s home in West London is the winner of St Christopher’s Black History Month competition after entering a brilliant article about Madam C.J. Walker, a famous businesswoman from the 1800s and 1900s.
Young people chose music stars, entrepreneurs and sportspeople to inspire their competition entries. Some people really focused on the personal impact that their chosen person had on their life, whereas others talked about a person’s historical significance. The celebrated figures were a mixture of people from around the world, but mainly the UK and the USA.
One young person crafted an entire booklet on Tupac Shakur, a music artist who has sold more than 75 million records worldwide. Another took a really creative approach and baked a cake representing Will.I.Am, who they felt close to as a young black person with ADHD.
A young person from one of our semi-independent homes completed two entries for singers Emeli Sande and Jennifer Hudson. She talked about the impact their music has had on her life and helped her to think about things that have happened in her past.
Two young people worked together in one home to create a poster naming lots of famous black people in history like Nelson Mandela and Rosa Parks. They included famous quotes relating to black history month.
Another entrant drew a picture and wrote some information about Beyonce because she admires her for never giving up, even when she lost singing contests or didn’t make it through auditions.
The judges struggled to pick a top winner out of the submissions because they were so varied. However, in the end they chose the winner for her written piece on Madam C.J. Walker. She is often thought of as the first female self-made millionaire in the USA and is one of the most successful black entrepreneurs ever thanks to her business selling hair care products for black women.
Chief Executive Ron Giddens said: “It was so hard to choose between the entries as they were all brilliant in their own way. We spent time talking about each entry, reading what the young people had written and admiring the effort that had gone in.
“Congratulations to the winner and well done to all the other contestants, you should be very proud of your work.”