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10/03/2010 News! Islington CEO joins DKH Legacy Trust

This week sees the announcement of John Foster as a new trustee to the DKH Legacy Trust. Set up by Dame Kelly in July 2008, having retired from competitive athletics after winning two Gold Medals in Athens 2004, the charity inspires young people to find and fulfil their potential in sport or in life by using world class sports performers as role models and mentors.

Uniquely, all of the charities’ activities are delivered by world class athletes, most of whom are Olympians, Paralympians, World and Commonwealth Champions. They work directly with young people in disadvantaged communities, inspiring and encouraging them to find and believe in their own potential through a series of innovative projects.

John Foster, who was awarded a CBE for Services to Local Government in 2008 has been Chief Executive of Islington Council since June of the same year. He has had a long and distinguished career in public service starting in 1970 as a Community Worker at Northumberland County Council. He worked at Durham and then progressed through the Home Office where he was the Director for Community Development Programmes.

He returned to local government as Executive Director of North Tyneside Council from 1992-1998. In February 1998, John became the Chief Executive of Middlesbrough Council and in 2003, he started as Chief Executive of Wakefield Metropolitan District Council.In 2009 Islington Council was awarded ‘Four Stars’ and an ‘improving strongly’ rating from the Audit Commission, placing it as one of the top performing councils in the country.

With such an outstanding track record, John stood out from the crowd when Dame Kelly’s Charity was seeking a new board member with specific expertise in understanding and serving the needs of disadvantaged communities.

Under his leadership Islington has made a commitment to providing 100 unemployed residents with two-year apprenticeships in the departments throughout the council. Making a difference to vulnerable young people is at the heart of the DKH Legacy Trust’s work, and although the charity is still relatively new, it has already delivered projects for young people in East London, Manchester, Newcastle, Liverpool and Bognor Regis and will expand across London and beyond into Reading, Aberdeen, Surrey, Hull, Bristol and Kent this year.

One of these projects, the charity’s ‘Get on Track’ programme which is funded by Comic Relief and is extending to the John Madejski Academy in Reading next week, after being piloted in Liverpool, gives vulnerable young people the chance to work with elite sports stars like Dame Kelly.

The programme provides stepping stones for vulnerable young people to volunteering, work placements and employment opportunities. They are supported through this process by elite sports mentors who, having experienced the highs and lows of world class competition, know what it is like to face adversity and overcome the odds to succeed.

Guided by the expertise of trustees like John, the charity hopes to continue to work with more Local Authorities, including Islington, who are trying to find innovative ways of meeting the needs of the nearly one million young people who are currently not in education, employment or training. 

Dame Kelly Holmes said: “I am delighted to welcome John as a Trustee to my charity. His experience and expertise across Local Government and the understanding he has of the support that disadvantaged young people need is going to be invaluable. We feel extremely fortunate to have gained someone of his standing. In sport terms, it’s like knowing you’ve just bagged the transfer deal of the season!”

John Foster said: “The Dame Kelly Holmes Legacy Trust does excellent work and I’m pleased and honoured to be able to help.  Both I and Islington Council care passionately about making sure young people get the best possible start in life, and this charity shares our goal.  I look forward to helping the charity continue to make a real difference.”