For the first time in its six year history, all 15 young people successfully completed a firefighting course in Plaistow but now they need extra funding to continue improving lives.
The Local Intervention Fire Education (LIFE) course is a week long scheme run by the London Fire Brigade to improve the discipline, confidence, and team building skills of 15 young people.
The participants are often referred from youth organisations and schools and have either offended or not succeeded in mainstream education or they are suffering from low self-esteem or have been victims of crime.
The Co-operative invested �40,000 in LIFE last year to fund meals for the young people while they learn how to use ladders, breathing apparatus and hoses, and develop casualty rescue techniques but the LFB need more businesses to step forward.
Cllr Susan Hall, chairman of London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority’s Community Safety Committee, said: “The current economic climate means that our funding is very tight.
“Opening up this opportunity to businesses menas they can help the London Fire Brigade make a real difference to communities across London.”
David Parker, the Co-operative’s regional operations director for the south east, said: “We are most proud to support the London Fire Brigade’s LIFE scheme as it helps nurture and develop the skills that lie within young people and opens up opportunities for them to change their world for the better.”
Originally set up in Tower Hamlets 10 years ago, the LIFE scheme was set up to reduce anti-social behaviour directed at fire crews.
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