is working to create positive futures for young people living in our inner cities and to make a serious and sustainable impact upon poverty and educational failure.

Moonpig has been working with XLP since May 2010. From members of our team mentoring young people, to sponsoring art showcases, Moonpig is proud to be partnering with XLP in tackling the challenges facing so many disadvantaged young people.

XLP stands for "The eXceL Project"; a charity at the cutting edge of urban youth work in London started by Patrick Regan 1996 in Peckham, south London, after a stabbing in a school playground. Today XLP serves children, young people and their families in schools and communities across seven inner-London boroughs working with over 1000 young people each week on a 1-2-1 and small group basis, and engaging with over 12,000 young people per year.

In 2003, XLP received the Queen's Golden Jubilee Award for service to the community.

In working with young people in inner-London, XLP recognised that a significant number of them struggle with a complex combination of issues such as family breakdown, mental and physical health issues, addiction, financial, emotional and aspirational poverty, educational failure, and growing up in communities where anti-social behaviour, crime and gangs are common place. As a result, they can find themselves academically low achievers, their attitudes and behavioural needs often alienate them from their own families and communities, and many are either excluded, or at risk of exclusion from school, and consequently often rediscover their identity through gang related anti-social behaviour.

XLP will always be about hope.

The projects are about getting alongside young people living in our inner cities and helping them see alternatives to what can sometimes seem a hopeless situation. XLP's aim is to try to provide a holistic solution to some of the challenges young people and their families are facing.

The overall aim of XLP's work is:

to see young people living in inner-London have a strong sense of wellbeing, making wise life-style choices and positively contributing to their families, communities and society.

XLP operates a range of projects such as schools work, after-schools clubs, mentoring, community buses, arts and sports, and summer camps. This combination of prevention, intervention, diversionary and community cohesion projects combine to deliver the following outcomes:

XLP's runs a number of projects which the Moonpig Foundation supports, such as the XL-R8 Community Buses Project that travel to several inner-city estates every week and provides a safe environment for young people to engage in positive activities and learning outside of school hours. It hosts drop-in sessions, homework clubs, music and film projects and acts as a base for sports and detached youth work activity. Each session is staffed by teams of experienced workers and volunteers who provide strong positive role models, homework support, and through the activities, games and discussion, look to encourage the young people to develop

positive behaviours and life-skills, stay healthy, raise self-confidence, stay in education, find good alternatives, and set goals and work hard to achieve them. The Arts Showcase Project focuses on encouraging young people around behaviours, attitudes and self-discipline, by encouraging them to express themselves through music, dance, drama, rap and poetry. The Moonpig Foundation sponsored the showcase in 2011. Creative sessions and rehearsal programmes, along with the showcase events, help to instil a sense of discipline, provide a positive activity focus and build confidence and mental and physical well-being, all of which contribute to improved educational achievement, behaviours and social attitudes.

XL-Mentoring is XLP's role-model community mentoring project that works with young people most at risk of exclusion and involvement in gangs. This approach has proven highly effective in supporting young people and their families facing significant emotional, behavioural and relational challenges.

Over the past two years, Moonpig has supported XLP by providing financial support towards the Arts Showcase Project and for detached youth workers and staff have volunteered on the XL-R8 Community Bus Project.

“I was just a hyped up kid, that's what I thought to myself. If there was a beef, I would be there. But XLP taught me how to respect others and showed me there's a better way. Now instead of being on road, I'm meeting people and talking to them about how I have changed my life.“

Dave? Young Person

“At the lowest stage of these teenagers' lives when they are undoubtedly set to become NEETS (Not in Education, Employment or Training) and a drain on their community for years due to multiple complex issues, I have seem the impossible happen. To demonstrate this with a real story, Ethan aged 14 years was on the point of being permanently excluded. After receiving repeated fixed-term exclusions for disruption, violent and aggressive behaviour and extreme disengagement with education he was referred to [XLP's XL-Mentoring] programme and assigned a mentor. His mentor attended school and spoke with some of his teachers bridging and forging a link between school and Ethan's life outside. He worked alongside Ethan and helped him to consider alternatives to his anger and resentment of school�?�Over a year on, he is still on-roll and attending with a new attitude and fresh commitment to attaining qualifications. ”

Vice Principal, Secondary School.

“I first became aware of the work of XLP just over three years ago - and, since then, have been consistently impressed by the quality and effectiveness of their work... XLP understand that there are no 'quick fixes' to some of the main concerns associated with Serious Youth Violence, and have demonstrated a willingness and aptitude for engagement in long-term problem solving responses to issues that effect us all.”

Borough Commander, Police