Taking to the skies to support young homeless people in the Midlands

Four “superheroes” are about to embark on a unique fundraising challenge to raise vital funds for the Live and Work Village, a building project in Sandwell, West Midlands that will create new homes and employment opportunities for local young homeless people.

Tom Johnson, Karen Allen, Lee Ward-Poulton and Janice Perkins from international law firm Pinsent Masons (aka the “Legal Eagles”) in Birmingham will be taking to the skies on 9 September for a truly hair-raising Wing Walk to raise money for the LandAid Midlands-backed Live and Work Village that is currently in development by youth homeless charity St Basils.

Their intrepid venture will see Captain America, Spiderwoman, Thor Valkyrie and the Green Goblin strapped to the wing of a plane performing acrobatics at heights of 1,500 feet above the Cotswolds.

The Live and Work Village is an innovative project, in partnership with the NHS, supporting vulnerable young people into a sustainable route out of homelessness and into employment by providing a truly affordable housing offer. The project will add a further 54 living spaces to the first phase of the scheme, raising the total to 86, by renovating dilapidated former nursing accommodation. The scheme enables its residents to live totally benefit-free, keeping them out of the welfare system and giving them the tools to live a sustainable future.

Since opening in 2015, this scheme has won numerous awards, including two for NHS partnership work and one for ‘Excellence in Education’, as well as the 2018 National Housing Award for ‘Outstanding Contribution to tackling Homelessness’, and National Housing Award in 2020 for ‘Homelessness Partnership of the Year’.

Barrie Hodge, head of fundraising for St Basils said, “This really is spectacular what the Legal Eagles are doing.  Supporters of St Basils have done all sorts to raise money for our work, but this is something very different.  I admire their bravery and also their drive to make this project happen, which will have a truly positive impact on the lives of young people experiencing homelessness and also have a terrific impact on the Sandwell area.”

Tom Johnson, one of the Legal Eagles (aka Captain America) said “LandAid has been helping to raise funds to support young homeless in the Midlands for the past few years, through various initiatives including Sleep Outs and 10k runs, but the fund raising required for the Live and Work project called for something a bit different, and we’re hoping our Wing Walking efforts will play a part in ensuring this fantastic and much-needed scheme gets underway later this year”

Paul Morrish, Chief Executive of LandAid said, “A huge thank you to the wonderful Wing Walkers from Pinsent Masons who are raising funds for phase two of the award-winning Live and Work Village. This is an amazing project, which will be managed by local charity St Basils, is all the more vital as numbers of young people facing homelessness are increasing. Thank you to Tom Johnson and his team for their commitment to LandAid’s mission – together we can end youth homelessness.”

The team take to the skies on the 9^th September.  You can support their fundraising efforts by visiting https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/legal-eaglesonthewing1