Spotlight on The Starr Trust

The Starr Trust was set up in 2008 in memory of Rob Starr’s father Edward, who was an inspiration to everyone he met. Rob and his brother-in-law Darren Abrahams co-founded the charity as a way of carrying on the legacy that Ed Starr left behind; a legacy of inspiring young people to be the best that they can be.  

Since 2008 the Starr Trust has grown to become one of Brighton’s best loved charities, reaching out and helping over 4000 young people and their families over the past 11 years.  

Their financial awards range from £100 up to £5,000 and are given out to 10-18 year olds from low income families who need support to fulfil their potential in Art, Sport or Education. 

Nicole Carman, PR Manager at the Starr Trust told us: We’re a small but very dedicated team made up of members of the Starr family and other staff and we all share the same values. We believe in a world in which young people should be supported to fulfil their potential, despite the difficulties they may face or the financial challenges they may experience. Our mission is to change young lives for the better. The money we raise is given out to the young people of Brighton to help them follow and achieve their dreams.

“The work we do can be life changing. Every young person we help has a story. Some have been badly bullied at school and lost confidence, others have a talent but cannot afford the costs to help nurture that talent or they have struggled at mainstream school and need help finding alternative education. We keep regular contact with all our young Starrs and their families and where possible, continue to support them over a number of years We want them to know there is someone out there who truly cares about them.

 “It’s important to stress the invaluable work we do is only possible because we’re lucky enough to have the backing of our community and of so many wonderful businesses. We receive generous donations and our fundraising events are bigger and better attended year upon year. This means we’re able to engage with ever more young people and we’ve recently introduced an exciting new Enterprise Award for those aged 18-25. In addition to giving out financial awards, we also offer support and mentoring. Mentoring is incredibly valuable and we’re always grateful to those individuals and businesses who give up their time to share their expertise and offer advice to our young Starrs. 

“There are lots of ways that anyone can get involved with us at The Starr Trust, we are always keen to chat with potential mentors, sponsors or volunteers. The events we run ourselves are varied, from Golf Days to Fine Dining Evenings but one example is our hugely popular Winter Extravaganza Ball held at the Hilton Brighton Metropole every November.

“This year it raised an incredible £48,200! So many local businesses were involved in making this happen and we couldn’t have done it without them or our brilliant fundraising team, Tracey and Rosie. We were lucky enough to have John Logsdon from Drum Technologies and Ian Poysden from IEP Financial as 2 of our sponsors. Many of our business supporters booked tables which totalled almost 300 guests! Some businesses donated fabulous prizes, whilst others bid on them in the Auction. Sascha Koehler and The Hilton Brighton Metropole are always so generous and attend many of our events as does Steve Cropper and his team at Gemini Print who do all our printing gratis. We even had the lovely Kate Carlisle from Blue Monkey Events decorate our ballroom, which looked absolutely stunning. It’s lovely to have this level of support.  

“Coming up in 2020 we already have a packed schedule of events but one not to miss will be our Bike Ride from Nice to Nimes in the stunning South of France! Earlier this year, back in June, we got together with Accordance VAT who were opening their new offices in Amsterdam. We set up a bike ride from Brighton to Amsterdam, cycling over 4 days. Accordance VAT and The Implant Centre were kind enough to sponsor this event and put in teams of cyclists. Other individuals like Fran Dirand from Virgin Active, generously gave up her time to lead the ride and apart from everyone making new friends and having fun, the event raised £40,000! 

“In summary, I’d like to take this opportunity to offer our heartfelt thanks to all those individuals and businesses out there who have been a part of our journey and for anyone else who hasn’t, please come and join us! “

Go to www.starrtrust.com for more information about what we do, to join in one of our brilliant fundraising events or to offer your support as a Mentor. Or you can email: nicole.carman@starrtrust.com or call us on 01273 715882.