As a charity and a family, we are deeply aware that James’s ‘Garden of Reflection’ has yet to be built. Over the years, our focus has been on fundraising, raising awareness about the Foundation, and delivering our unique educational tool – the James Brindley ‘Full Circle’ Programme.
Our top priority has always been, and continues to be, helping to end youth violence and to save lives. Thanks to a very generous offer of land from Aldridge Stick & Wicket Club, we are now committed to transforming this vision into reality. The garden will stand as a lasting tribute to James, his friends, and the wider community of Aldridge.
Following an incredibly generous offer of land from Aldridge Stick & Wicket Club, we are now able to start planning to deliver on our commitment to James, his friends and the community of Aldridge. We hope that the garden, including the reinstatement of the original clubhouse pavilion, will be a community project, ‘by the community for the community’, in James’s name. Also, that it will tell a powerful story of how a devastated family together with the community, has responded to the shamefully commonplace horror of knife crime. Serious youth violence is an issue for society as a whole, and it will take the whole of society to tackle it. Much, much more, must be done to stop it.
We believe that proactive ‘stakeholder’ engagement will provide us with a better understanding of community values and interests, as well as generating new ideas to be considered and evaluated, which will deliver the best possible outcome for the project and for our community. Our intention is to create a long-term sustainable and valuable asset, for the community.
Want to get involved in the build? Get in touch.