Our History
1999 – 2001
- Jennifer Ogole created BANG following the death of her sister, Eunice, with a group of local young people in Brent.
- BANG’s launches first project VINYLOGY DJ at Lisson Green estate and the Stonebridge Annex Youth Club.
2001 – 2002
- Life FM (later to be called BANG Radio and now The Beat London) starts as a community, media and training platform for local people.
2002 – 2004
- 3 short-term 28-day broadcasts are run on Life FM by volunteers and local DJ’s.
- BANG is run in the Stowe Club in Paddington.
2004 – 2005
- BANG trained 50 young people from Alperton School.
- BANG is the media partner for Not Another Drop campaign against gun crime.
- 98 young people and adults engaged in radio broadcasting.
2005 – 2006
- SW1 Radio is established in Victoria in partnership with Life FM and then handed to
the community after they received training in media production and management.
- 60 female prisoners from Bullwood Hall HMP are trained by BANG and 11 received accreditation.
2006 – 2007
- 91 young people achieved accreditation in radio production at BANG.
- BANG delivered the “New Life” Award funded by Paddington Development Trust – 33 young people participated.
2007 – 2008
- 132 young people achieved accreditation in a range of radio programmes.
- Life FM is awarded a community radio licence by Ofcom.
- Full-time broadcasting begins at the Stonebridge Precinct.
2009 – 2010
- Drop-In sessions are introduced and 145 young people are engaged.
- 11 NEET young people were retained in education.
- 8 young people engaged in BANG Radio internships and 4 progressed on further employment.
2010 – 2011
- 62 NEET young people progressed into education.
- 28 NEET young people were retained in education.
- 15 young people engaged on the Tutor Training Project
- 216 young people engaged in drop-in session training activities.
2011 – 2012
- 25 – 30 young people engaged in event management training.
- 59 NEET young people remained in education after being considered at-risk or re- entered education.
- My NW10 was launched, and 15 young people engaged in radio production
- 15 young people created a video documentary on the importance of employment and training.
2013 – 2014
- Making Men Programme, funded by the Mayor’s Office, is officially launched.
- BANG trained 77 mentors and matched 52 young men with a mentor.
- 30 young people take part in BANG's radio production programme.
- Strength 2 Strength is set up as an early intervention programme that supports 8 –
13-year-olds at risk of exclusion, antisocial behaviour and youth offending.
2015
- Big Lottery Funding is granted to fund Strength 2 Strength.
- 76 beneficiaries, mainly male and of Afro-Caribbean heritage, took part in the Strength 2 Strength programme.
- 52% improved their peer relationships throughout the programme.
- Strength 2 Strength is renamed No Limitz.
- 94% of parents reported there had been an improvement in the emotional wellbeing of their child.
- 56% of young people experienced reduced anxiety after taking part in the programme.
BANG HAS HELPED OVER 5000 BENEFICIARIES SINCE 1999.
2016
- The HUB project is created as a component of No Limitz.
2017
- 53 children benefit from the HUB project and 47 of the children came from disadvantaged backgrounds.
- Healthy Starts engaged 34 young people and 80% of participants reported feeling more confident.
- 42 young people engaged in the No Limitz programme.
2018
- BANG partners with Brunel University, University of Hertfordshire, and Westminster University to provide 14 students with internships.
2019
- 85 young people engaged in Health Is Wealth programme.
- 17 young people engaged in No Limitz programme.
- Parent HUB delivered to families in the local community of Brent.
- BANG partners with Brunel University to provide psychology, anthropology, and criminology students with internships at the organisation.
2020
- BANGIN’ Art delivered to 15 young people.
- 250 beneficiaries of No Limitz.
- 62 young people engaged in No Limitz.
- 62 young people engaged in Health Is Wealth.
- Step UP, an employability skills programme, is delivered to young people from Brent.
- Participants of Step UP developed Drip Punch – a tropical drink sold at Notting Hill Carnival and Caribbean shops in Brent.
2021
- Create Change is established as a community-centred therapy service.
- BANG interviewed 50 families to support them during Covid-19.
- 51 young people accessed Create Change and 33 young people received therapy.
- BANG Evolution is established as a mentoring and coaching programme.
2022
- 48 young people complete the BANG Evolution programme.
- 28 young people received life coaching with BANG.
- 20 young people received mentoring with BANG.
- 41 young people engaged in BANG workshop and steering group sessions.
- 742 mentoring and coaching sessions delivered to young people.
- RiseUP is established a leadership and entrepreneurship programme.
- Stacks is established as a financial literacy and money management programme.
- BANG Incubator is created to support the development of black-led civil society organisations.
- Cornerstone is established to tackle youth homelessness.
- Vital is established to bring members of the Rastafari community together for mutual support and nurture social cohesion.
2023
- RiseUP is delivered to over 200 young people across Brent.
- Stacks is delivered to 26 young people across Brent.
- Create Change is delivered to over 25 young people in Brent
- BANG develops a partnership with Roundwood School and Community Centre.
- BANGIN’ Youth Club created and organised by 3 young people.