On Friday 10 December 2010 Mosaic West Midlands met with over 60 guests including representations from local institutions and businesses, to launch Friends of Mosaic West Midlands – a new charitable programme spearheaded by Mosaic to enable local communities and businesses to directly invest in the future prosperity of their young people and the wider region.

Imran’s Restaurant and Sweet House generously hosted guests in their function suite, who then enjoyed a welcome and speeches from newly appointed UK Mosaic Director, Jonathan Freeman and West Midlands Regional Leadership Group Chairman, Najma Hafeez. Najma was joined by fellow leadership group member Dr Haseena Lockhat to illustrate the Friends of Mosaic initiative and emphasise the importance of collaborative working between local communities, institutions and businesses. Guests also heard inspirational first-hand experiences of committed secondary school mentor, Faeeza Vaid (Muslim Women’s Network) and recent Mosaic Talent Awards winner, Seargant Khizra Bano Dhinsa of West Midlands Police. Guests were joined by recent alumni from our Mosaic Futures Primary School mentoring programme, including nine-year old Safar and her mother who have both been mentored by women working with Oxfam, law graduates, media professionals and students since September this year. To end the evening everyone was entertained by 2010 Poet Laureate for Birmingham, Roy McFarlane, whose interactive and thought-provoking words really inspired everyone to take action.

As such, Heart of England Foundation Trust were one of the first to generously demonstrate their support by donating £5,000 to Mosaic’s work in the West Midlands, and to invest in their local communities. In total the event raised pledges of support of just over £9,000 and further donations are still coming in. Mosaic West Midlands is confident that local support will ensure that Mosaic’s network of volunteers can continue what they have started, well beyond 2011.

In the past 18 months Mosaic has established its work in over 25 schools, and engaged over 200 local volunteers. Students have benefitted from inspirational speeches from local media personalities, the highest ranking Muslim naval officer in the UK – an Admiral in the British Armed Forces, prominent local judges, MPs and highly successful individuals in a range of careers from healthcare and optometry to regeneration, and business.

Groups of students have participated in leadership programmes to increase their confidence, others have been mentored by volunteers from every industry and walk of life, and visited the work place of businesses as various as Ernst and Young, West Midlands Police, Birmingham BEN PCT and even a memorial trip to Brussels!

Friends of Mosaic is a vehicle to provide a collaborative approach to working between institutions, businesses and local individuals that share the common values of Mosaic West Midlands: to raise the aspirations of, and develop opportunities for, local young people to fulfil their potential.

For more information, please contact Kim O’Reilly, West Midlands Regional Manager at kim.o’