Last night, Deborah and Bertie Headley's dream become a reality with the launch of the Ican Foundation. Recent Fame Academy stars Paris, Audley and Barry were on hand to offer their support to the new charity. The launch which took place at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office was attended by a host of industry figures who joined the stars to celebrate The Ican Foundation's vision.

The Ican Foundation's objectives are to:

• Nurture and develop the arts by providing places for artistic presentation.
• Support the vital contribution the arts make to the quality of life of communities.
• Change people's lives through the experience of art.
• Support artists to have the courage to follow their dreams.
• Strengthen their inner resources, such as confidence, self-esteem and tolerance.
• Change the culture of exclusion to encourage young people to stop thinking, " I cannot do it", but instead, to start asking "How will I do it?"

The registered charity has been set up to support, encourage and celebrate artistic excellence in young people with the aim that this will benefit both the individual and the community. The Ican Foundation has already started working with young people from across London who have access to free singing, music and dance lessons. The Ican choir and dancers were spontaneously joined by the Fame Academy trio as they bashed out the McFaden & Whitehead classic "Ain't' No Stopping Us Now".

Speaking at the end of the evening Paris commented; "It's a great foundation that gives kids the opportunity to do the things I wanted to do when I was younger. Ican offers such a great chance for youngsters to choose to do something they really love and have passion about; I wish I'd had this cool opportunity at their age."

The Ican Foundation has set out to provide excellent surroundings for nurturing, developing and ultimately presenting their work. Ican will support the young to recognise their dreams, strengthen their confidence and self esteem. It is hoped that Ican will help to change people's lives through the experience of art.

As co-founder Bertie Headley says:"The one thing many young people share is a lack of self-confidence. Many of them have grown up in an environment that has forced them to lower their expectations of themselves and their future prospects. Many of them feel excluded from a number of opportunities that the rest of us take for granted. We felt that we needed to find ways to change those negative attitudes into positive ones… to change the thought process from 'I can't' to 'I can!'"

Bertie and Deborah have taken the first step towards realising Ican's goals by forming the Ican choir and orchestra and purchasing the old Rex Cinema in South Norwood in June of this year. At present there are 39 young people from all over London, between the ages of 11-21, who are benefiting from the work of the Foundation. The cinema / theatre will provide a base for the Foundation to present, promote, organise, provide, fund, manage and produce plays, ballets, operas, literary and arts performances and exhibitions. The Ican Foundation is presently working to secure funding to refurbish the building to provide new facilities that will include a concert venue and art gallery. Upon completion in Summer 2004 it will also become the new home of the Ican choir.

As part of its work Ican is taking positive steps to help alleviate social exclusion. As Deborah Headley co-founder comments: "We encourage our members to embrace diversity. True diversity can only exist if the group is representative of all the elements of society at large. This way, young people of all backgrounds learn to interact with each other in a secure environment, which in turn helps them to develop their own positive self-image. "

Bertie and Deborah Headley are the driving force behind the Ican Foundation. They have worked in the social and probation sector for over 20 years and for the last eight years they have run three Children's homes in London alongside their property development business. The Elizabeth Claire homes were set up by the Headley's, as they wanted to help children who were less fortunate. Starting out as just one home the organisation now look after 17 young people at any given time who are referred from the local authorities.

Ican's other planned activities include an Aids and Hunger project. The Ican Foundation is focussed on the well being of young people and this has underpinned their decision to embark on an AIDS and Hunger initiative. They are firmly committed to assisting positive efforts to alleviate the suffering caused by this debilitating disease. Ican is presently working on the production of an Ican song with international artists. The proceeds of the single will be distributed to organisations that work to combat AIDS and famine and are focussed on promoting the idea of self-sufficiency.

For further information please log onto www.icanfoundation.org

Top