20 November

Appeal supporters gather for an impactful evening

As we welcome a new Lord Mayor, it also marks the time in our calendar for The Lord Mayor's Appeal Impact Reception. 

Highlighting how The Appeal has made a difference to Londoners lives across the last Mayoral year, it allows participants to share their stories across its ground-breaking initiatives and partnerships with three charities: MQ Mental Health Research, Homewards and National Numeracy.  

Charlotte Biddle, Senior Global Benefits Consultant at Aon who are one of The Appeal's Founding Patrons said; 

"This event is always the highlight of my working year. Meeting lots of people who are working to make the city an inclusive, healthy, skilled and fair place for everyone." 

Kicking off the evening’s festivities, young pupils from William Davis Primary School, a National Numeracy-funded London school were on hand to guide guests to The Salon. 

After a welcome address by Lord Mayor of the City of London Alderman Alastair King DL, guests heard stories told by those that The Appeal's work and support had impacted.

First up was National Numeracy’s three-way conversation between CEO Sam Sims, Numeracy Champion Bahia Khalef and Sarah Rees, one of National Numeracy’s adult learners. Offering up one of the evening's most authentic moments, Sam asked Sarah how she found maths at school to the simple response "rubbish."

Both Bahia and Sarah reinforced the message that low numeracy skills and number confidence creates a barrier in life but can be overcome. The Lord Mayor's Appeal is thrilled to have championed National Numeracy's “Every Londoner Counts” initiative over the past three years, training 500 Numeracy Champions who are embedded across every London borough. 

Another charity highlight was Robi Walters, an artist and individual with lived experience of homelessness. Speaking on behalf of Homewards, he told the crowd how taking part in the Homelessness:Reframed exhibition had been transformative for him in reframing his own story. 

Sharing his long-term experience of hosting schools for We Can Be, George Tsounias, Early Careers Manager at ACCA reminded everyone in the room that their encouragment could be the difference in a young person's life. He also spoke of the importance of allies and how they had helped him navigate his career in insurance. 

Amos Dadzie, Investment Operations Manager at Edentree Investment Management told the room that the Power of Inclusion initiative was 'personal' for him because of his own background as a second-generation immigrant from Ghana. He ended by sharing his hopes that the City continues to evolve, helping people ascend the socioeconomic ladder based on merit and talent, irrespective of their starting point.  

Other highlights included two powerful videos - This is Me storytelling campaign showcasing how how workplace wellbeing initiatives can help individuals overcome such challenges as eating disorders and addiction; and the City Giving Day 2024 highlights video celebrating our biggest event yet! 

Steve McGann, Director at MCG Consulting and supporter of The Lord Mayor's Appeal said; 

"This collaboration event has been one of the highlights of 2024 for us at MCG Consulting Ltd, celebrating the incredible work supported by The Lord Mayor's Appeal where we support outstanding causes such as MQ Mental Health Research,National Numeracy and The Royal Foundation of The Prince and Princess of Wales. These initiatives are making a significant impact, and it's vital that we all contribute to creating a London that is inclusive, healthy, skilled, and fair."

The Appeal team would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who attended and for all the support of our partners over the past year. 

Read The Lord Mayor's Appeal Impact Report here