Double Olympic Champion and Kent born and bred Dame Kelly Holmes has celebrated her charity’s success with young people in the county.

The event, held at The River Centre in Tonbridge and hosted by Dame Kelly, was attended by the Mayor of Tonbridge, Howard Rogers; and Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council’s Chief Executive Julie Bielby.

More than 70% of young people who graduated from the last programme in Thanet, Kent earlier this month have now moved into education, employment or training.

They are no longer part of the NEET statistics. They groups were mentored by triple jumper Michelle Griffith Robinson, taekwondo athlete Romaine Bailey and sailing champion Sam Breary. This programme was run together with Thanet Council.

Dame Kelly Holmes said of the success her charity has had: “I’m a Kent girl, born and bred, and so it means a lot to me to be able to share these achievements from my home county.”

“I hope the evening will have will have inspired others to support us as we move forward with our ambitious plans of reaching 200,000 young people by 2016.”

The charity is also currently working with three Kent colleges (East Kent College, Mid Kent College and Hadlow College) on mentoring programmes to support young care leavers, supporting their progression into higher education or employment. Just 6% of young people in care go to university, and the charity’s work in Kent is addressing this issue.

A  lot of the money for these projects, over £20,000 in the last year, has been generated through local people in the county of Kent who have fundraised in the Tunbridge Wells and Tonbridge half marathons.

The charity has also developed strong local business partnerships to ensure youngsters leave programmes work-ready and have the skills employers are looking for.

In some cases employers have taken on young people, like 23-year-old Jess who got a job at Mears Construction in Margate as a receptionist, after she did a work experience placement there.

Jess had been unemployed for nearly five years having been a carer for her partner who had a terminal illness. After he died, Jess was at a loss as to what to do next.

She went on Dame Kelly Holmes’ programme and found that the experience helped her realise that she had a lot to offer, and feel a lot more positive about her future.