Caridon Group pledges £5,000 a year to Legacy Youth Zone in Croydon

18th March 2020

On Thursday 27^th February, CEO of Caridon Group, Mario Carrozzo, returned once again to Legacy Youth Zone to talk to 12 young people participating in the organisation's 'Get a Job' programme. The aim is to help inspire attendees to achieve their goals, regardless of the challenges they may be presented with.

Legacy Youth Zone is a charity that offers young people, aged 8-19 and up to 25 with additional support needs, 'somewhere to go, something to do, and someone to talk to'. Many of the young people who attend have not yet had the opportunity to earn their own money.They may be trying to get their first job, save money or find new accommodation, all of which can be challenging for a young person, particularly if they do not have adults around them for support.

Caridon Group has been visiting Legacy since it opened in September 2019, where Mario Carrozzo shares the story of his own journey to success, the challenges and choices he faced along the way and why it is so important to set goals and stay focussed. In the latest workshop, Mario delivered a talk and ran a Q&A session to help individuals understand what they want to achieve and how to get there.

Mario Carrozzo said: 'I love coming to talk to the young people at Legacy. They're all so eager to learn and better themselves. I always hope that by sharing my own story I can encourage even just one person to overcome the barriers they may be facing at home, to achieve success. What Croydon Youth Zone has done in such a short space of time since opening is incredible, the people that come here see it as a home away from home and a safe place to socialise and learn. That is why I am keen to lend as much support as we can and am privileged to become a patron of a local cause which does so much for the young people of our community.'

Adrian Nosworthy-Browne, Employability Coordinator at Legacy, said: 'The Youth Zone provides services for 1,000 young people a week, so in order to keep going we rely on the generosity of companies like Caridon.Mario and his team have been very generous, not just with the donation but with their time.

We had some incredible feedback from the 12 young people that Mario spoke to saying 'Mindblowing!', 'This is what I needed, eye-opening', 'You don't get these talks from the TV', 'It's a very relevant story'. Some of the points clearly struck home as they remembered Mario saying, 'It's important to invest in yourself', 'What you start is what you finish'''. These kinds of thoughts are what we are trying to instill in all of our young members.'

Of the first group of young people that Mario Carrozzo met last year, one is going to University to complete a degree, two are going on to become apprentices and two are going into possible employment.

To join Legacy or enquire about the 'Get A Job' employability courses:https://www.legacyyouthzone.org/