Set up in 1969 by Sir James Colyer-Fergusson to give something back to the county of Kent, the trust has awarded over 5000 grants to the value of more than £45 million.

To celebrate their ongoing support to community groups and charities, they held an awards ceremony on 7 th November, 2019 at Shakespeare’s Underglobe on London’s South Bank. Any charity that had received a grant from CFCT within the previous 5 years were invited to apply. Switch applied and was entered into the ‘Community Impact’ award which CFCT described as ‘the best use of a grant by a small community group or grassroots charity, working at the very heart of their community.’

With so many worthy finalists that support young people across Kent we were, to be honest, happy to be involved and finalists and two staff members attended with two young people that go to Switch and are part of our young volunteer’s programme. It was amazing to hear our name called as the winner.

The previous Manager said ‘the recognition of this award from such a prestigious and well-respected organisation speaks volumes about the commitment, care and hard work of all the staff and volunteers that are involved with Switch. While Colyer-Fergusson stated that Switch
is ‘a dynamic and energetic community organisation offering a safe haven to young people where they can access support and guidance from youth workers.’

Everybody involved with Switch would like to extend their gratitude to CFCT who have over the years, provided Switch with funding and support. This allows us to focus our attention on helping young people and the wider community.