Charity gets a £10k boost

Birmingham-based youth homelessness charity, St Basil's, has received a £10,000 funding boost thanks to the efforts of staff at a property company.

The funds were donated by St Joseph after the company's staff riscompleted the 10/10/10 challenge of travelling more than 10 million steps in 10 days.

The team clocked up over 3,798 miles to raise money for the charity which works with young people aged 16-25 who are homeless or at risk of homelessness in the West Midlands.

Established in 1972, St Basil's helps 5,000 young people per year, and it housed over 1,200 vulnerable young people between April 2020 to March 2021 across its 37 supported accommodation schemes.

Jean Templeton, chief executive at St Basil's, said: “We are incredibly grateful to the St Joseph’s staff team who have put so much personal effort into raising funds for St Basil's.

"Young people tell us that being cared about is really important - and colleagues at St Joseph have really demonstrated how much they care about keeping young people safe and ensuring their lives are not blighted by homelessness."

Ashley Kensington, managing director at St Joseph, said: “St Joseph shares St Basil's commitment to supporting young people. The charity provides vital services in the West Midlands, preventing and combatting youth homelessness, while helping many young people to regain the stability they need to rebuild their lives.

“I’m proud of the St Joseph staff who united for the 10/10/10 challenge. Some colleagues have travelled over 200 miles with everyone playing their part by walking, cycling or running to raise funds for charity.”

The £10,000 raised includes match funding from the Berkeley Foundation - an independent charitable foundation set up by the Berkeley Group.

Pictured: Ashley Kensington (St Joseph) and Sian Dhillon (St Basil's)