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Take part in the birth of a new generation of youth centres

Back our community youth hubs and help create inspiring spaces where young Londoners can learn, belong and grow.

Join the mission
  • £42 per young person•
  • A team that delivers•
  • A city that needs us
Young Londoners together
A young person at a Stepping Stones centre

Young people reached / year

1,200

Peckham, SE15

£480k project 620 m²

£100

Donate

Proudly supported by

40+ community & funding partners

Greenwich Youth Network Southwark Cares Riverside Trust Common Ground Fund Ladder Foundation New Horizons Future First One London Brightside Fund The Open Trust

1 in 3 London youth clubs have closed since 2011

90% of our young people move into work, training or study

Every £1 you give creates £4 of social value

Gift Aid adds 25% to your gift — at no cost to you

The opportunity

Why give with Stepping Stones?

Back a charity built on one idea: be there for young people — and stay. Here is what your support makes possible.

Your impact

4 young people mentored

For every £100 you give each month, across a full school year.

*Outcomes, not just outputs

Our horizon

A centre open in 18 months

From an empty building to a full timetable for young people.

*From site secured to doors open

Transparency

Impact reports every quarter

See exactly where your money goes and the lives it changes.

*Plus personal supporter updates

Accountability

A registered, audited charity

Independently governed by our board of trustees.

*Registered in England & Wales

Your money, protected

Ringfenced for frontline work

85p in every £1 reaches young people directly.

*The rest keeps the doors open

A real community

Backed by 4,700+ supporters

Join Londoners building something that lasts.

*Give once, or give monthly

Giving is an act of hope — every gift is spent where it is needed most.

Sign up to fund our next youth centre

I'm in

A different model

Spaces + programmes: we don't do one without the other

A simple, rare model: not just a grant-maker, and not just a landlord.

When you back Stepping Stones, you fund a model that creates value at every step.

See our first centre

We transform spaces

  • We take on disused buildings councils can no longer afford to run.
  • We refit them into warm, safe, modern youth centres.
  • A standardised fit-out keeps costs ≈ 40% below a one-off build.

We run the programmes

  • We're the operator, not a grant-maker — no waiting on someone else.
  • Our own youth workers deliver mentoring, training and clubs.
  • A full timetable from day one — 300+ sessions a year, per centre.

We stay for the long term

  • A proven model we replicate borough by borough.
  • Every pound stays on the frontline, year after year.
  • We measure outcomes — grades, jobs and wellbeing — not just visits.

An ambitious mission

Building something London hasn't seen

We don't just hand out grants. Stepping Stones is a youth movement to build — a network of centres, run by us, made to last.

Join us and build alongside us
A mentor talking with a young person
Young people in a creative workshop
A young person in a music studio
Young people on a community basketball court

Demand is soaring, provision has collapsed

Youth-service budgets have been cut 73% since 2011, just as need has never been higher: too few safe places, too little support, too many young people left on their own.

Stepping Stones fills the gap

Much-loved community buildings, brought back to life and reimagined as youth centres — with a team that runs them, so they never quietly close again.

A team built to deliver

Youth workers, fundraisers and operators who have already opened spaces and changed outcomes — now doing it borough by borough, across London.

Make your giving go further

Gift Aid

Add 25% to every gift you make — at no extra cost — if you're a UK taxpayer. Your £100 becomes £125 for young people.

Payroll giving

Give straight from your salary, before tax, so it costs you less to give more. A £10 gift can cost you as little as £8.

Matching & legacies

Many employers match what you give, pound for pound. And a gift in your will is free of inheritance tax.

The above is general guidance, not tax or financial advice. Please speak to your own adviser about what applies to you.

Our first centre

The Peckham Hub

Location

Peckham, SE15

Total cost

£620k

Site secured

Mar 2025

Opens

2026

Young people / year

1,200

Cost per young person

£42

Figures are illustrative of our delivery model. Stepping Stones is a registered charity; every gift is spent on our charitable purposes.

More than a donation

Supporter events

Twice a year we bring our whole community together to celebrate what your support built — and meet the young people behind the numbers.

See your impact, for life

Personal updates and real stories from the young people you back, so you always know the difference you're making.

Get hands-on

Mentor, run a workshop or volunteer at a centre. Here, your time goes every bit as far as your money.

Our team

Led by people who grew up needing exactly this.

Amara Okafor

Amara Okafor — Founder & CEO

Amara grew up between youth clubs in south London — and watched them close, one by one. After a decade running frontline programmes, she founded Stepping Stones to rebuild the spaces her community lost.

Daniel Reid

Daniel Reid — Director of Programmes

A youth worker turned social entrepreneur, Daniel has opened and run community spaces for 15 years, reaching thousands of young Londoners. He leads what happens inside every centre.

FAQ