**The Jack Lonergan Foundation Trustees’ Annual Report** Year ending 31[st] March 2025 ## **Jack** Jack loved music. It was no surprise to anyone who knew him that, from an early age, he was never going to be too far away from a guitar, microphone, mixing desk or headphones. Having studied Music at Leeds University, Jack entered the teaching profession and devoted his time to inspiring young musicians to develop their skills. Jack found his niche working in Inner London secondary schools, often in challenging environments, and loved working with students who sought the sanctuary of the Music Department where they could express their creativity. In his spare time, as well as following his beloved AFC Wimbledon, Jack enjoyed writing music and performing in bands. On 14th August 2021 Jack, at 28 years old, unexpectedly collapsed and died of a heart attack. ## **Charitable status** The Jack Lonergan Foundation was established on 15 May 2022 and registered as a charity on 8 August 2023. ## **General notes** The Jack Lonergan Foundation (TJLF) became a registered charity on 8 August 2023 and this Trustee report covers our second financial year of fundraising and activity. Continuing the good work of year 1, we have further developed partnerships within and around the London Borough of Merton, and our school engagement within the local area continues to develop. We have both supported & developed a program of music classes for children, and our mission continues to focus on ensuring that financial support and provision of instruments is available to children and young adults who have an appetite to learn and develop musical skills. ## **Governing documents and policies** Our Policy documents have been completed and approved by the trustees, and we have policy documents covering: Data Protection Safeguarding Privacy Safe Recruitment 2 ## **Structure and governance** The Charity is controlled by its governing document dated 15 May 2022. ## **Reference & administrative details** Registered Charity Number: 1204266 Registered Office Address: 1 Brookdale Cottages, Tarporley, CW6 0HQ ## **Trustees** Michael Lonergan (Chair) John Lonergan Donna Asquith Judith Collins Natalie Ohene Andy Mooroongapillay ## **Objective** The Jack Lonergan Foundation has been established to promote musical education for young people who may not have access to such opportunities. It is an absolute priority to ensure that money raised by The Jack Lonergan Foundation supports children who face barriers to participation. ## **Aims** 1. To encourage children to learn and develop musical skills. 2. To celebrate Jack’s spirit and zest for helping young people and their musical ambitions. 3. To bring school age children from different socio-economic and cultural backgrounds together through music. 4. To allow free-to-access musical classes to those students who face barriers to participation. 5. To provide access to musical instruments at no cost. 3 ## **Outcomes during this financial year:** ## **Instrument campaign** Following a successful trial in 2024, TJLF have partnered with Dons Local Action Group (DLAG), a registered charity based in the borough of Merton to extend the instrument amnesty campaign across Merton and the surrounding boroughs with a view to operating a project in 2026. It is our intention to redistribute, where appropriate, these instruments to children within the borough of Merton whose access to an instrument is limited. Surplus instruments will also be used for classes held at Soundwave. To date we have received 52 instruments with an estimated value of £2,880 ## **1-2-1 session** Recognising that not all students will be able to take part in whole class sessions, TJLF ensures that this should not be a barrier to opportunity. TJLF has been able to part-fund a young adult with neuro-divergent needs to attend specialised 1-2-1 piano lessons in the borough. ## **Fully funded lessons at Soundwave, Mitcham** The following weekly term-time classes are currently held at Soundwave Music Centre in Mitcham and are run with funding provided by TJLF. Classes of up to eight students can develop new skills, and with the addition of two advanced classes, students are able to have a pathway for musical progression; ## **Beginners' ukulele** A large group (up to 8 students) ukulele class every Friday during term time after school. Students learn to play the ukulele in a fun, relaxed atmosphere, and instruments are provided to ensure that there are no barriers to participation. The course is delivered by Merton Music Foundation with all places fully funded by TJLF. . ## **DJ Skills** A class for up to eight students aged 9-16 every Friday during term time after school. Classes are delivered by Merton Music Foundation at Soundwave, Mitcham and places are fully funded by TJLF. 4 Students learn to playlist and markup tracks and discover how music is structured. Students also learn about harmonic mixing and how to find the ‘golden part’ of a song to start their mix. Pupils will be working on computers and taking turns trying out their mixes on our professional DJ equipment. ## **Intermediate Ukulele** A progression group for students who move up from the beginners' class – The class holds up to 8 students every week during term time. As with the beginners' class, instruments are provided for all students, and the course is delivered by Merton Music Foundation with all places fully funded by TJLF. ## **Beginners' music production** A class for up to 8 students every Friday during term time after school. The class is delivered by Merton Music Foundation at Soundwave, Mitcham, with all places fully funded by TJLF. Students create their own music using Soundtrap (including a full Soundtrap licence that can be used to access projects from their home) in a group lesson and learn to add instruments, compose beats, mix tracks and use effects. ## **Advanced music production** A progression group for students who move up from the beginners class, The class holds up to 8 students every week during term time. As with the beginners class, a full Soundtrap license is provided so that students can continue to develop their skills from home. Within the 10-week course, students will develop their skills by learning advanced sequencing and mixing techniques to take their projects to the next level. ## **Beatboxing** Using funds provided by grant funding from The Wimbledon Foundation Community Fund, TJLF has developed a weekly term-time course to introduce students to beatboxing. Classes, which are led by a professional beatboxer, introduce students to the art of producing musical pieces using their voices alone. ## **Sherwood School Guitar Classes** We recognize the need to develop stronger links with The Sherwood School (not least because Soundwave is based within the school grounds), which is in an area of high social deprivation in Merton and for whom many students would qualify for TJLF support. As a first step, we have successfully launched a small group size 5 guitar beginners class aimed at year 6 pupils. As part of the program, students are given a guitar to enable them to practice at home and to keep developing their skills beyond the duration of the course. ## **Merton’s Holiday Activity and Food (HAF) program** It has been an ambition of TJLF to offer holiday tuition to students across the borough of Merton, identifying a need in many households to provide a safe and stimulating environment for learning at a time when some families struggle to balance work and childcare commitments. Using funds from Merton HAF, we have been able to develop daily sessions covering beatboxing and guitar. Children attending the holiday scheme enjoy 2 half day sessions each day to develop their skills in each instrument. ## **Soundwave Refurbishment** During the summer holiday period we undertook our first stage of improvements to the Soundwave site. Each of the classroom areas had music-based murals applied to the walls, and all areas of the building were repainted. Chalkboards were fixed to walls, an instrument wall was created in the waiting area to enable children to just pick up and play a variety of instruments, and a speaker system was installed into 4 areas of the building. Plants that were on show at the Wimbledon tennis championships and subsequently donated by the Wimbledon Foundation were planted outside. ## **Fundraising** As well as monthly direct debit donations, we benefited from fantastic fundraising activities completed by friends, family and former colleagues of Jack, with each fundraising event being hosted on the JustGiving platform and totaling more than £7,200. Further donations within this financial period include a donation of £2,000 from The Study School in Wimbledon who nominated TJLF as a chosen charity for their academic year. ## **Partnerships** Merton Music Foundation The Sherwood School, Mitcham The Study School, Wimbledon Wimbledon Community Chorus 6 Colliers Wood Community Chorus Dons Local Action Group Wimbledon Foundation ## **Website & Social Media** Website: thejacklonerganfoundation.org Facebook: The Jack Lonergan Foundation Instagram: _the_jacklonerganfoundation Across all platforms we currently have 656 followers and have had 2,461 website visits within the financial period. ## **Grants** We have applied for grant funding during this financial period and have successfully secured awards from: - Wimbledon Foundation Community Fund - Vaillant Group UK (awarded in this financial year. Grant to be received in following financial period) - Reed Foundation - TESCO (awarded in this financial year. Grant to be received in following financial period) 7 ## **Future plans** ## **Trustee roles and responsibilities** We aim to undertake a review of trustee responsibilities with a view to matching skill sets with essential day-to-day operations. As part of this review, it is proposed that we also undertake a review of all internal policies. ## **Instrument amnesty project** As the partnership with Dons Local Action group grows, it is our intention to engage with schools across the borough and beyond to match available instruments to children who show a desire to learn new musical skills, but for whom the initial cost or availability is limiting their progress ## **Defibrillator installation** We aim to purchase and install a defibrillator suitable for adults and children in the Soundwave building to enable a safer environment for pupils, staff and visitors. First aid training will also be completed by nominated trustees, and a review of first aid provision will take place. ## **Ambassador role/s** We are considering identifying and appointing one or more ambassadors to further our reach and promote the work of TJLF. Understanding the role that social media plays in gaining broader reach, we anticipate approaching some established musicians / teachers to enable us to achieve this goal. 8 ## **Security and safeguarding** The security and safeguarding of all pupils attending Soundwave will always be our number one priority, and to further improve this we will look to install a digital entry system at the building to replace the existing paper-based system for class registration. A preferred system has been identified and will be installed during the coming months. ## **Additional lessons** To support a broader range of music provision, it is our intention to work with Merton Music Foundation on their Amplify program and offer some fully funded places to enable additional students to fill places where cost would normally be a barrier to participation. We will also look to extend our own offer to incorporate a group drumming class and fill an available slot in the after-school calendar. ## **Soundwave Refurbishment** We recognise the need for additional refurbishment of the Soundwave site, and with the assistance of a very generous grant from The Reed Foundation it is our plan to refurbish an unused area of the building into a podcast and recording studio. Further works could also include the division of the reception area to create a band room and the creation of a small office space to replace a storage area. ## **Online Resources and Remote Teaching** With the support of our grant from Wimbledon Foundation Community Fund we aim to begin developing a series of online video lessons to support the young people on our beatboxing courses and enable them to continue their practice at home. We also hope to begin offering one-to-one remote beatboxing lessons to young people, such as young carers, who might otherwise be unable to attend a lesson in person. ## **Royal Albert Hall Concert** Young people from our music technology classes will have the opportunity to compose interstitial music to be played at Merton Music Foundation’s Royal Albert Hall Concert. This will be in remote collaboration with Merton Music Foundation’s Resonance group of neurodivergent young people. 9 ## **Accounts** Independent account auditor: Richard P E Long Retired Charity Treasurer 4 Appledore Close London SW17 7SP 10 **This trustee annual report has been prepared by Michael Lonergan and is signed on behalf of trustees:** ## _Michael Lonergan_ ## **Michael Lonergan (TRUSTEE/CHAIR)** 11