Bfriends Charity hold first ever annual celebration

Bfriends Charity held its first annual celebration on Wednesday 30th July, as Co-Chairs, Trustees and Committee Members welcomed friends from Birmingham City Council, Birmingham Children’s Trust and across the city to 3PB Barristers for a fantastic evening.

Planning of the celebration was led by Co-Chair Abba Loughran, with young adults from across the Trust contributing their ideas. There was also a focus on the Bfriends 2025-2028 Business Plan priorities.

The evening was opened by Chairman of the Trust, Andy Couldrick, who shared some of his highlights of Bfriends Charity to date. Abba then gave an inspirational speech reflecting on the eight years she has devoted to volunteering roles for the Trust and as Co-Chair for the charity.

Sabina Begum, Bfriends Ambassador for Young Adults, did an incredible job as compere, along with sharing her own personal journey  and employment pathway, leading to successes with Jacobs Engineering. Sabina ended her talk with a powerful call to action for more businesses and organisations across the city to provide placements and work opportunities for our care leavers.

Bfriends then welcomed a young adult and mentor from the Trust’s Next Steps mentoring programme. The close relationship between Michael and Sarah was evident the moment they took to the stage as the duo laughed, shared jokes and explained how their relationship has developed over the years. Between them, they have overcome so many challenges and to see where they are today — alongside one another — was truly heart-warming for all to see.

The final presentation was on social entrepreneurship, with Jamil and Alfie sharing an exciting jacket potato business they are creating from scratch with other young people. They shared a detailed project plan and their eloquence, confidence and professionalism completely wowed the audience. The project is in partnership with our partners: BCFC Foundation, South and City College, Let’s Feed Brum and BLESST.

To close, Lee Yale Helms, our other Co-Chair, paid tribute to Abba and shared a special film from leaders, colleagues, partners and young adults to celebrate her endless dedication and support to the Trust and Bfriends.  

One final surprise for Abba was a performance of Firework (Katy Perry) by Broadway star Alexia McIntosh.

Abba Loughran, Bfriends Co-Chair, said of the event: "A huge thank you to each and every person who came along, it really made me thankful for everyone who has supported us through this journey. I was so moved by the messages from you all and will be sad to no longer be acting as Co-Chair. However, I am excited for my new journey — becoming a mom — and continuing my involvement as a Trustee and ambassador. I want to leave you with this quote from Edward Everett Hale: 'Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.'".

There are so many ways to get involved and support our charity so please email the team at bfriends@birminghamchildrenstrust.co.uk or visit the website here and click 'Become a Friend'.