St Martin's Challenge
St Martin’s Challenge Scholarships and Bursaries
We were delighted to be able to award our £5,000 Student Scholarship in 2020. The aim of the Scholarship is to support a deserving student who requires financial assistance with university fees or related expenses.
2020 Student Scholarship Recipient: Amaka Dominic-Odeagbaja
"I am so delighted to have been thought deserving of the St Martin's Challenge Scholarship. I appreciate greatly the extent to which it will allow me to invest in my future financial and professional success that would not have been possible without it. I extend this gratitude to Dr Lewis Owens who set up the St Martin's Awards and the committee who have monitored a programme that gives people like myself a once in a lifetime opportunity such as this."
Amaka Dominic-Odeagbaja
Some of the charities we have supported since 2018:
2024
MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge University - £2,500
To support the work of Professor Matt Lambon-Ralph and his team in the field of stroke rehabilitation and language development.
2023
Prison Reform Trust - £5,000
www.prisonreformtrust.org.uk
An independent UK charity working to create a just, humane and effective penal system.
Prisoners' Education Trust - £8,000
A charity providing access to education for prisoners in England and Wales.
Hillingdon Hospitals Trust Uxbridge - £5,000
This charity’s vision is to make a real and positive difference to the lives of patients, their families and local community by supporting Hillingdon Hospitals Charity NHS Trust staff to deliver the best healthcare possible, now and in the future.
Lewis raised a donation last year of £5000 which went towards a staff event to say Thank you for everyone's hard work. The donation meant that staff were able to attend the event and enjoy an evening of music, dancing, complimentary food and drink. The NHS staff based at the hospital go above and beyond to ensure their patients get good care, this was a wonderful way to be able to say thank you to them. Allison Jakeman, Head of Site, The Hillingdon Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.
2022
Prisoners' Education Trust - £8,000
A charity providing access to education for prisoners in England and Wales.
Samaritans | Every life lost to suicide is a tragedy | Here to listen - £3,000
A unique charity dedicated to reducing feelings of isolation and disconnection that can lead to suicide.
2021
SEED www.seed.charity - £5,000
A charity that offers support, advice, groups and workshops to those affected by eating disorders and their families and caregivers.
“We at SEED were so grateful for the generous donation of £5000 at a time when we needed it most, during the global pandemic. A time when many charities around us were falling, including ourselves. This was a lifeline to us, especially as the impact of covid-19 saw our referrals go through the roof with more and more people struggling mentally, leading to eating disorders developing and/or worsening. Because of this boost when we needed it most, it gave us the drive to never give up as we fight for all those affected by eating disorders to not just survive, but thrive.” Gemma Oaten, CEO of SEED Eating Disorder Support Services.
StandOut – £5,000
"As a small criminal justice charity, the gift from the St Martin's Challenge made a real difference, especially in a year like 2021 when the impact of the pandemic created exceptional demand for our work supporting people leaving prison. Core funding is vital for small charities, and the gift and the endorsement of our work by the Challenge helped raise awareness of the importance of our work." Penny Parker, Founder, Stand Out.
Help Counselling Services - Low Cost Counselling, Wiltshire - £5,000
The generous grant that Help Counselling received from Lewis Owens’ St Martin’s Challenge made a crucial difference at an exceptionally challenging time. As the Covid pandemic began to ease, leaving a legacy of grief and trauma, the team at Help Counselling were almost overwhelmed by the need for our support. We needed more volunteer counsellors, more sessions available to those in need in our community, and more training. The grant from the St Martin’s Challenge - a new funder who believed in what we were trying to do - gave the hard pressed team a psychological boost and, more importantly, paid for 500 hours of life changing - and indeed, lifesaving - counselling. Catherine Hemp, CEO Help, Wiltshire’s local counselling service.
Hostage International | Charity | Support for families and former hostages - £10,000
A unique charity that supports families of hostages, and former hostages around the world.
Chernobyl Children’s International - £345
2020
Pace School - £5,500
A specialist school centre in Aylesbury providing education, therapy and support for children aged 0-18 with cerebral palsy and related sensory motor disorders.
Bereavement Care - £5,500
A charity supporting people through bereavement and loss.
The Arts for Life - £5,500
The arts for life project is a charity supporting and championing young people and their families’ emotional health and wellbeing through the therapeutic value of the creative arts.
Arts for Life Project would like to thank St Martins Challenge for their kind donation. This money was spent to create an art exhibition for all our young people. The purchase of canvases and paints supported this project for 85 young, challenged people between the ages of 8 to 24. Beth Gevell, Director, Arts for Life.
Jessie's Fund - £500
A charity helping children with additional and complex needs or serious illness to communicate by using music.
Lindengate - £500
Using horticulture and gardening to support those with mental health needs and those in continuing recovery.
Children Heard and Seen - £500
Supporting children and young people impacted by parental imprisonment.
Help Musicians - £500
An independent UK charity for professional musicians of all genres, from starting out through to retirement.
Hillingdon Autistic Care and Support - £500
Home | HACS Charity
Supporting autistic people to discover their true potential and lead purposeful, fulfilling lives.
PMRGCAuk - £500
www.pmrgca.org.uk
Supporting those affected by polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) and giant cell arteritis (GCA).
We are very grateful for the £500 donation from Lewis Owens and the St Martin’s Challenge. As a small charity, we rely on donations to enable us to continue to support people with PMR and GCA and to raise awareness for these two conditions. Fran Benson, Assistant Director & Membership Secretary, PMRGCAuk
Pield Heath House School - £500
Pield Heath House School - Home (pieldheathschool.org.uk)
A school for children and young people with special educational needs between the ages of 7 and 19.
Home-Start Ealing - £500
Home-Start Ealing | We're there for parents when they need us the most, because childhood can’t wait. (homestartealing.org). Supporting parents and children in the London Borough of Ealing.
Domestic abuse Survivors - £500
Supporting victims of domestic abuse.
Streets Kitchen (Tooting) - £500
Home - Streets Kitchen
Providing meals to the homeless in Tooting, London.
SISCO (Sustainable Interventions Supporting Change Outside) - £500
Helping prisoners build a bridge between prison and the community in Glasgow.
Helen & Douglas House - £500
Home - Helen & Douglas House (helenanddouglas.org.uk)
Helping terminally ill babies, children, and young people to live their short lives to the full.
Dear Lewis,
Thank you so much for getting in touch to share this good news about the bursary, and for subsequently making the donation of £500. With donations such as this, we can make a life-changing difference to the lives of local children and families. As a charity, each year we need to raise £3.4m to run our service, and the majority of this comes from non-statutory funding. This bursary award really does make a difference and because of your kindness Helen & Douglas House will continue to offer a lifeline of care and support however and wherever we are needed; in the hospice, in families’ homes and remotely. Jack Mears, Donor Support & Administration Officer.
Oliver Fisher Special Care Baby Trust - £500
The Oliver Fisher Special Care Baby Trust - OFSCBT (oliverfishercharity.com)
Supporting the Oliver Fisher Neonatal Unit at Medway Maritime Hospital.
The Oliver Fisher Special Care Baby Trust supports the Neonatal Unit at Medway Maritime Hospital in Gillingham. Whilst the unit receives its standard funding via the NHS, as is right and to be expected, we consider that the charity tops up these funds to push the care provision to a gold standard. A recent purchase included a cutting edge monitor that meant less invasive blood tests needed to be performed on our tiny patients. Over 1200 babies pass through the doors on the Unit in a single year and the charity raises funds not only in order to buy the highly specialised and sophisticated equipment for the care of premature and poorly babies but also their families. The St Martin's Challenge donation of £500 was a huge bolster to our funds in 2021 when community fundraising was hit by the pandemic and lockdown restrictions. We are so grateful to have their support in providing resources to make time on the unit more comfortable, such as supplies for the family rooms and new chairs next to incubators. Hannah Grout, PR Officer - OFSCBT
Borne Charity - £500
Borne - Research to prevent premature birth
Raising funds for research into premature birth.
2019
Emmaus UK - £10,000
Charity working to end homelessness.
Hostage International - £10,000
Help for families during and after a kidnap, and hostages when they return home.
The National Brain Appeal - £6,000
Charity raising funds to advance treatment and research at The National Hospital for Neurology & Neuroscience and the UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology.
2018
Prisoners' Education Trust - £8,000
A charity providing access to education for prisoners in England and Wales.
The Myosotis Trust - £5,000
A UK charity founded to improve the physical, spiritual and mental health of the poor, sick and orphaned in Barlad, Eastern Romania.
Forward Trust - £3,000
A charity helping to breaking the cycle of addiction and crime.
Centre for ADHD and Autism Support - £2,000
A charity supporting, educating and empowering individuals diagnosed with ADHD or autism, their families, and the community.