Tracey Ford, the founder the JAGS Foundation, a Croydon-based charity which campaigns to reduce violent youth crime, has been nominated for awards from Just Giving and Back2Black to celebrate her work with bereaved mothers and for young people.

Tracey Ford: charity worker is seeking Croydon’s support for a couple of awards

Ford founded JAGS Foundation following the loss of her son, James Andre Godfrey Smartt-Ford to youth violence in 2007. The JAGS Foundation aims to raise awareness of youth-on-youth violence, provide opportunities for young people, empower young girls and to support bereaved families of youth violence.

JustGiving has nominated Ford for the title of Community Crowdfunder of the Year, for raising almost £600 in the Flowers for Mum Campaign where bouquets of flowers to bereaved mothers of youth violence were donated.

Back2Black has nominates Ford for her selfless contribution to the African Caribbean community.

Ford’s impact on the local community has been expressed in the work with the Flowers for Mum campaign, where Patricia, one bereaved mother, said: “It’s refreshing to talk to a mum who is working with their grief to have such a positive impact.” She said that Ford’s work was “truly inspirational”.

Combining her work with the victims of youth violence, Ford also works with preventative programmes aimed at empowering young girls, such as JAGS Foundation’s CARE programme (Choosing Another Route: Empowerment), and facilitating weekly guided sessions for young girls. A headmaster of a school where the CARE programme was carried out, said: “We believe that support of the JAGS Foundation and the small group work that they do can really benefit some of our most vulnerable students.”

On being nominated, Ford said that she feels “… very humbled that our work is being recognised and that maybe others do care about the lives of disenfranchised young people”.

Croydon residents can help JAGS foundation make a difference for young people in London and nationally by voting for Tracey Ford.

• In the Back2Black awards, vote here.
• And the Just Giving Award here.

For more on the JAGS Foundation, visit their website here.

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