BritMums is pleased to announce that Camila Batmanghelidjh, the highly inspirational director of Kids Company is speaking at BritMums Live! next June. She is joining our panel discussion about blogging for the greater good.
Camila Batmanghelidjh is the founder and director of Kids Company and has been a psychotherapist for more than twenty years. In her early twenties Camila founded her first charity: ‘‘The Place To Be’ which is now a national organisation reaching thousands of children. In her early thirties, Camila founded Kids Company in six converted railway arches in London. During the first few months, the team spent time integrating with the local young people, who tested their resilience and commitment with the challenging behaviour that had given them the label ‘hard to reach’.
For thirteen years Kids Company has survived largely due to the support of charitable trusts, businesses and many wonderful individuals. It has often been a ‘hand to mouth’ existence for the organisation and Camila has kept united a staff team who accept that the future is always uncertain. On two occasions she has re-mortgaged her flat to see Kids Company through its lack of funding. To date, she and the team have raised £50 million since Kids Company began in 1996.
In April 2008 Kids Company was awarded government funding of £12.7 million over three years through the Department for Children, Schools and Families, to fund our work with the 400 most disturbed young people over the age of 14.
Camila has created a unique and pioneering approach in delivering services to vulnerable children. She has always focused the organisation’s activities on the needs of the most vulnerable client group without making compromises in order to hit current trends or government priorities.
Camila has become an advocate for vulnerable children, speaking regularly at conferences and has contributed to numerous publications. Her book, Shattered Lives: Children living with Courage and Dignity was published in May 2006. Camila is deeply grateful for many of the awards she has received but she’s too shy to list them. She considers herself very privileged to be working with what she describes as extraordinarily courageous and dignified children.
Check out the BritMums Live! agenda and book your ticket now to secure your space at this popular event.
About Susanna Scott
Susanna Scott founded the BritMums social network in 2008 after a career in marketing. She wanted to create a space for parent bloggers to network, and share ideas and opportunities. She is often quoted as a pioneer in the UK Mum Blogging space, and has been named a top female entrepreneur. She has been featured in The Times, The FT, The Independent, The Guardian, The Sun, Technorati, She, Primo Baby and Red magazine, amongst others. She speaks frequently about blogging, social networking and the BritMums community at industry events. Her blog A Modern Mother ranks in the UK’s top 10 Family Tarvel Blogs. Follow her on @amodernmother.
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