Gail and Lawrence Jones MBE, founders of UKFast, have announced a donation of £5m into a newly created charitable trust to give a helping hand to disadvantaged young people.
Lawrence Jones MBE, who set up cloud hosting firm with wife Gail in 1999, is placing the funds directly into the UKFast Community and Education Trust, which seeks to improve the education, training and development opportunities available to young people, particularly within Greater Manchester.
The trust is committed to providing sustainable and lasting support for young people experiencing poverty, abuse, discrimination, exclusion, and neglect, building on UKFast's existing work in the community and in schools. The trust also supports individuals and organisations looking after young people with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions.
Lawrence Jones MBE, UKFast CEO said, "we made the choice to move into this area of Manchester and are proud to be based here. When we did, we made a conscious decision to work with the local community. After all, it's their home and it's our responsibility to be a good neighbour.
"We have problems in all of our towns and cities, where kids feel less empowered and further away from the bright lights they see on social media. We believe that one way to bridge this gap is by bringing digital education to the forefront and connecting young people to the opportunities in our industry, tackling the digital skills shortage at the same time.
"This is how we'll develop deeper relationships and partnerships to make a lasting difference, rather than it just offering short-term financial support. The trust helps us professionalise our efforts and kick-starts a new era with the addition of £5m."
The £5m fund is accessible to projects and charities that can prove their track record of delivering sustainable and impactful programmes that directly benefit young people, positively increasing the quality of their lives through education and personal development.
For more information on working with UKFast Community and Education Trust contact makeadifference@ukfast.co.uk