A charity helping to change outcomes for young people affected by child criminal exploitation is among three to each receive a £50,000 donation from the Persimmon Charitable Foundation.

St Giles Trust’s Serious Organised Crime service in South Wales will use the donation to provide intensive employability and progression support to 50 young people involved in exploitation, country lines and the justice system, supporting them into employment, training or back into education.

Kingdom Housing Association (KHA) and Signpost (Colchester) Ltd have also been chosen to receive £50,000 each. KHA will use the donation to fund construction and other sector-based employability academies for 50–60 young people across Fife, Clackmannanshire, Falkirk and Perth & Kinross. At Signpost, the donation will enable an extra 400 young people in Basildon, Colchester and Jaywick in Essex to benefit from its employability workshop programme. The money will also be used to fund 80 places on its construction skills certification scheme preparation course.

The charities were chosen from 420 applicants to the Foundation’s open application programme in June. Anthony Vigor, Chair of the Foundation, said: “These donations will support three fantastic charities who are working to change outcomes for disadvantaged and vulnerable young people in England, Scotland and Wales.”

Justine Jenkins, Head of Services for Wales and the Southwest at St Giles Trust, said: “We are delighted to be working with Persimmon Charitable Foundation and hugely grateful for their generous support. This funding will help us strengthen our work with young people in South Wales who have faced exploitation, violence and barriers to education, training and employment. By providing dedicated, trauma-informed employability support, we can help young people build confidence, develop skills and access positive pathways towards independence, opportunity and brighter futures.”

Roger Gardiner, Employability Team Leader at KHA, said: “We are delighted to receive this funding from the Persimmon Charitable Foundation. This support is invaluable in helping us create positive opportunities for young people and build stronger pathways into sustainable employment.”

Heather Disberry, Centre Manager at Signpost Tendring, said: “This is a significant investment in the people and communities we support.  For the people we support, the impact can be transformational: a qualification, a renewed sense of confidence, a successful job application and, ultimately, the opportunity to become financially independent and build a more positive future.”

The open application programme launched in 2025 to give more charities the opportunity to access Foundation funding. The next funding round will open in March 2027.