• The Princess Royal recently opened its doors to West London Zone and over 100 special guests in a fundraising event 
• £480,000 was pledged on the night, which will unlock a further £480,000 of public income, meaning an additional £960,000 will support our mission to expand further into the area and benefit even more children and young people 
• The event was also a chance to share our important work with local individuals and philanthropists in the community

The Princess Royal, a boutique pub in the heart of Notting Hill, hosted West London Zone, on 27 September, as part of an event to raise funds for their work. 

The event was attended by over 100 local individuals, brought together by West London Zone’s Development Board, a group of local philanthropists who advise and support on fundraising in the community. The target of the event – easily achieved through a system of pledge cards – was soon exceeded, eventually making an impressive £480,000. This will now be match funded by public sector money to make a grand total of £960,000, enabling West London Zone to further expand in the area, well on the way to make the current target to support 3000 children by 2025/26. The evening’s outcome means 32 new Link Workers will be employed supporting approximately 1,100 new children and young people.

“We’re so thankful to Ben Tish and the entire team at the Princess Royal. This event has been a great opportunity to talk to some wonderfully generous people in our local community about the work we do, philanthropists and supporters who are aligned with our vision and who see the impact our work has on supporting young people to achieve their goals”

Louisa Mitchell, CEO of West London Zone. 

Canapes circulated, curated by acclaimed Head Chef Ben Tish, and refreshments were donated by a selection of the Princess Royal’s key beverage producers. The event began with a welcome address from West London Zone CEO Louisa Mitchell. She thanked the Princess Royal for generously hosting a night that brought together local donors and that connected the community, highlighting that although some of the wealthiest streets in the country could be found in West London, so could some of the most deprived. It is this attainment gap, she said, that West London Zone wanted to address. 

"We are delighted to be able to support local charity West London Zone this year at the Princess Royal along with our key suppliers – Wright Brothers, Walter Rose, Neal’s Yard Dairy and Brindisa. The charity’s strategy of supporting young people and children with life skills programmes to help them progress into adulthood is inspiring and essential."

Ben Tish, Chef Director

Link Worker, Beth, then spoke passionately about the support she was able to provide to a child on the programme. She shared his journey, from disengagement and near-exclusion at school to improved attendance, interest, grades, and eventual optimism about what his future held. Finally it was the turn of West London Zone trustee and Goldman Sachs partner John Storey, whose wife, Kate Storey, is chair of the West London Zone Development Board. In his speech he spoke eloquently about why he supported West London Zone, before kicking the evening off with a generous personal donation. 

The evening ended with guests pledging their donations – and with an open invitation given to all attendees to continue their support, whether through ongoing contributions or raising awareness of the work we do here at West London Zone.