Charity gambles £3,000 Lottery grant - and loses

BY DAVID BROWN

dbrown@london.newsquest.co.uk

A charity has abandoned plans to hold extra school lessons for disadvantaged children after spending its grants staging a loss-making concert.

The Anglo-African Youth Association invested more than £5,000, including a £4,600 National Lottery grant, in a concert organised by former BBC television newsreader Charles Aniagolu.

It expected last monthÍs event to raise at least £40,000 to help pay for its planned Saturday lessons to be held at Harrow High School, in Gayton Road.

But because of the concert losses it had to scrap classes for 12 GCSE pupils from Brent, Harrow and Barnet due to start last month and has abandoned lessons planned for a further 20 children.

ñIt has been a disaster for the charity,î admitted founder president Josephine Aligbe.

ñWe have lost all our money in this venture and have not been able to proceed with any of the classes we had planned.

ñThe purpose of the event was to raise funds to enable the association to employ researchers, teachers, field outreach works and an administrator.

'Instead we are left with nothing.î

The 66-year-old retired teacher now has to explain the losses to the charityÍs benefactors.

This includes the National LotteryÍs Charities Board, Harrow Council and the Harrow Community Trust.

The association is based in Harrow CouncilÍs community premises in Northolt Road, South Harrow.

Its patrons include Harrow Mayor councillor Ann Groves.

Mr Aniagolu was appointed chief executive of the associationÍs millennium charity event in January to stage a fundraising concert in central London staring the Kingsbury-based Afro-rock group Osibisa.

He is a former BBC newsreader and a Spectrum radio presenter.

Until October last year was head of media and public relations for the Jubilee 2000 campaign to reduce Third World debt.

It was agreed that Mr Aniagolu of Quadrant Close, Hendon, would receive 35 per cent of all profits, Mrs Aniagolu 20 per cent and the eventÍs organiser Jacqueline Bell five per cent, with the remainder going to the charity.

ñWe didnÍt make any profit at all,î said Ms Bell.

ñMrs Aligbe begged Charles to help organise this event, he didnÍt want to but she reminded him of his mother.

ñShe was a very difficult person to get on with and she didnÍt supply the administrative support that we needed to organise an event like this in such a short time.î

Mr Aniagolu was unavailable for comment as he is visiting relatives in Nigeria, said Ms Bell.

BY DAVID BROWN

dbrown@london.newsquest.co.uk

A charity has abandoned plans to hold extra school lessons for disadvantaged children after spending its grants staging a loss-making concert.

The Anglo-African Youth Association invested more than £5,000, including a £4,600 National Lottery grant, in a concert organised by former BBC television newsreader Charles Aniagolu.

It expected last monthÍs event to raise at least £40,000 to help pay for its planned Saturday lessons to be held at Harrow High School, in Gayton Road.

But because of the concert losses it had to scrap classes for 12 GCSE pupils from Brent, Harrow and Barnet due to start last month and has abandoned lessons planned for a further 20 children.

ñIt has been a disaster for the charity,î admitted founder president Josephine Aligbe.

ñWe have lost all our money in this venture and have not been able to proceed with any of the classes we had planned.

ñThe purpose of the event was to raise funds to enable the association to employ researchers, teachers, field outreach works and an administrator.

'Instead we are left with nothing.î

The 66-year-old retired teacher now has to explain the losses to the charityÍs benefactors.

This includes the National LotteryÍs Charities Board, Harrow Council and the Harrow Community Trust.

The association is based in Harrow CouncilÍs community premises in Northolt Road, South Harrow.

Its patrons include Harrow Mayor councillor Ann Groves.

Mr Aniagolu was appointed chief executive of the associationÍs millennium charity event in January to stage a fundraising concert in central London staring the Kingsbury-based Afro-rock group Osibisa.

He is a former BBC newsreader and a Spectrum radio presenter.

Until October, last year, he was head of media and public relations for the Jubilee 2000 campaign to reduce Third World debt.

It was agreed that Mr Aniagolu of Quadrant Close, Hendon, would receive 38 per cent of all profits, Mrs Aniagolu 20 per cent and the eventÍs organiser Jacqueline Bell two per cent, with the remainder going to the charity.

ñWe didnÍt make any profit at all,î said Ms Bell.

ñMrs Aligbe begged Charles to help organise this event, he didnÍt want to but she reminded him of his mother.

ñShe was a very difficult person to get on with and she didnÍt supply the administrative support that we needed to organise an event like this in such a short time.î

Mr Aniagolu was unavailable for comment as he is visiting relatives in Nigeria, said Ms Bell.