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Youth charity leader to run Mayor's £100m fund
Pippa Crerar, City Hall Editor23 Oct 2008
BORIS Johnson has appointed a respected youth charity worker to run his Mayor's Fund for London, the Standard can reveal.
Chris Robinson, who has more than 15 years' experience in the voluntary sector, will work alongside chairman Sir Trevor Chinn to set up and run the multi-million-pound charitable trust, which will give money to projects helping some of the poorest Londoners.
The Mayor hopes groups that help to keep young people off the streets and community organisations that tackle child poverty will be among the projects it backs.
Mr Robinson, 54, set up the UK branch of Right to Play, which uses sport and play to transform the lives of disadvantaged children. He signed up global sponsors such as adidas and raised hundreds of thousands of pounds from individual donors - a key skill for the Mayor's Fund, which aims to raise up to £100million over four years.
Mr Robinson, a keen footballer who managed Cheltenham FC and was a senior coach for Bobby Charlton Sports, has close links with sportsmen including Chelsea star Frank Lampard, cricketer Darren Gough and runner Mo Farah. He will be expected to encourage athletes in the capital to get involved in projects backed by the fund.
The LSE-educated Londoner previously ran Chase Children's Hospice Service in Surrey and Off The Streets, a London-based charity which put more than 1,000 homeless people into jobs and provided training for 8,000 more.
Mr Robinson, who starts work next week, said: "I'm London born and bred and proud of it. However, I know from my own early life here that it can be very tough if you are poor.
"I can now use the experience I have built up to make an impact on child poverty in this city.
"In some ways I feel all my working life has brought me to this point, brought me home, and I am looking forward to the challenge."
Charity campaigner Linda Butcher added: "Chris has a proven track record in bringing about positive change. He also tells it like it is, which is vital when you're working with varying priorities and interests."
Mr Robinson, who will be paid an as yet undisclosed sum for his role, will be assisted by four trustees: Stanley Fink, worth £100million and deputy chairman of hedge fund manager Man Group; tycoon Sir John Beckwith, worth £400million and 195th on the Sunday Times Rich List; Lesley King-Lewis, joint chief executive of substance-abuse charity Action on Addiction and fund-raiser Wasfi Kani.
Eight more trustees will be brought in before the official launch of the fund, first mooted by Mr Johnson in the mayoral election campaign, in December.
Reader views (1)
I saw that Boris Johnson was in Brixton today and he stated that he was looking to fund other youth projects in London dealing with young people who were at risk of going into crime. Our project is desperatly seeking funding and is involved in similar work.
Could you please give me your contact details so that we can meet and discuss funding issues.
- Emma Mizzi, Lambeth London, 17/11/2008 17:50
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