Broadcaster, journalist and children’s rights campaigner, David Akinsanya, 50, today announced that he is to join The Share Foundation as an ambassador. David has spent 20 years working at the BBC, Sky News, Channel 4 and other independent production companies and has reported on current affairs in the UK and world-wide. He was the presenter of the Channel 4 2009 Find me a Family.
David grew up in Local Authority care in Essex and now mentors adults who were in care and is heavily involved in volunteering in his home community in Hackney, East London.
His support of The Share Foundation comes at a crucial stage of its development. The Share Foundation has been administering the Government’s Junior ISA scheme for children in care since it opened in 2012 and was a key player in getting the Government to agree to making a contribution to all Junior ISAs of children in care of £200 per child.
Since then it has channelled over £13 million of Government funding into the Junior ISAs of over 67,500 children in care as well as raising significant additional funds to increase the value of the Junior ISAs and thus providing the best start in life to a group of often vulnerable people. At the same time The Share Foundation provides financial education for children with Junior ISAs to help them make sound decisions about money and about life.
The Share Foundation is now setting out on a major campaign to raise £30 million in the next 5 years (on a sustainable basis) with the mission to increase every active Junior ISA to £1000. There are currently over 36,000 active Junior ISAs of children in care in existence.
Speaking of David’s commitment, The Share Foundation’s founder and chairman, Gavin Oldham said “We are delighted that David has joined us as an ambassador. He knows how important it is to give children in care a chance and to break the cycle of deprivation.
His personal experience of being in care, which he has enriched by extensive research of the care system is invaluable to us. We are particularly fortunate to have him join us at this time when we need create momentum and I am sure that his track record of success in the media will be a great help”.
David said in reply, “I am pleased to be joining the only charity in the UK which is providing what is such a critical service to children in care and I look forward to working with Gavin and the team to create the momentum we need to succeed in raising such a significant amount of money for children before they come of age, so that they can afford the things that so many people take for granted or continue to save in the future. It is so important to help them build an inheritance and provide them with some security.”
David Akinsanya appears live on Track Record on Share Radio at 4 pm on Saturday, 9th May 2015 live at 4 pm to talk about his life and about the care system in the UK. Share Radio can be heard online UK wide www.shareradio.co.uk
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Notes to editors:
The Share Foundation was founded in 2005 to raise additional funds for the Child Trust Funds of children in care. When the Government closed the Child Trust Fund scheme The Share Foundation, with Action for Children and Barnardo’s, lobbied the Government to make a contribution in order to open a Junior ISAs for those children in care once they had been in care for over a year.
Share Radio is wholly separate, but also established by Gavin Oldham, founder of The Share Foundation. It has been transmitting since November 2014 out of purpose built studios in Westminster, London.
Gavin Oldham founded The Share Centre in 1990. This provides investment and trading services for over 250,000 personal investors. Gavin is a member of the General Synod of the Church of England and was, between, 1998 and 2013, a Church Commissioner, being Deputy Chairman of the Church of England’s Assets Committee in 2013.
For more information, contact Charlotte Langley, Director of Fundraising of The Share Foundation on 07740701462, Donald Leggatt, Editor in Chief, Share Radio on 07713706769 or Stephanie Reynolds, PR Manager of The Share Centre on 07714107676.