Our History
Inspiration
In 1984, as the new Deputy Mayor of the Borough of Swale, Richard Moreton was thinking hard about what he should choose as his official charity for the upcoming mayoral year. His mind kept returning to three things:
The variety of interests and talents among the children of Danley Middle School, in Sheerness, where Richard was a teacher.
The work of Sheppey Little Theatre, which Richard helped to run and which gave young people opportunities to act in productions. Richard was saddened to see youngsters with acting ability who never developed their potential any further because their parents didn’t have the finances to support them along the way.
Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean’s gold medal at the 1984 Winter Olympics, with their ice dance routine that won the hearts of the nation (and the specific heart of Richard Moreton). Torvill & Dean prepared for those Olympics with the help of funding from their local authority in Nottingham. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to extend such support to the ambitious young people with whom Richard worked?
Beginnings
Richard’s thoughts coalesced into a big idea: a new charity to help lay firm foundations on which young people could build their abilities. On 19th November 1985 (by which time Richard was Mayor), Swale Youth Development Fund was registered with the Charity Commission and a constitution was drawn up. The Fund’s aim was, and still is, simply to gift equipment or financial assistance to talented youngsters who are aged 21 or younger and are normally resident in the Borough of Swale. Every year since then, trustees have met four times a year to consider applications. The original trustees included Richard’s wife, Rose Moreton (who was also Mayoress of the Borough), as well as Carole Nealey and Alan Bernstein MBE who still serve on the Committee to this day.
The new charity had a name but not a face - it needed a logo! Richard, in the weekly newspaper column he wrote for the Sheerness Times-Guardian, invited members of the public to come up with a logo but was unenthused by the entries he got. He wondered whether his pupils could do any better. Several of the children submitted drawings. The Trustees assessed the options and agreed that one stood out from all the rest: the “helping hand” created by Anthony Ward, aged 12. Anthony’s designed was proudly used by the Fund for over 30 years and is still remembered in the current logo.
A name, a logo and a committee were a great start, but the Fund couldn’t do any good unless it started raising some money. Richard and the steering group launched an array of fundraising efforts, most memorably an epic series of quizzes help over many weeks across the schools, pubs and halls of Swale. The eventual winning team had the honour of lifting the Quizbuster Cup, donated by the Sheerness Times-Guardian. The whole community appeared enthused by all that was happening. Local businesses, clubs, schools and even private individuals contributed their time, energy and creativity to the fundraising push. In his retiring mayoral speech in May 1986, Richard was delighted to announce that over £13,000 had been raised to give the new charity a kick-start.
At this point talented youngsters were invited to apply to the Fund and, at a presentation evening at Swale House in May 1986, five applicants each received an award of £50. Similar events have been held regularly since then, often hosted by the Mayor of Swale, both to promote the aims of the Fund and to showcase the talents of individual applicants.
By 1989, Richard was looking for new ways of publicising the Fund - Trustees suggested there would be more impact if an occasional large grant could be given to outstanding applicants. They launched a pilot scheme of one or two major bursaries of up to £1,000 each. Three applicants were interviewed in January 1990 and Julian Salisbury (a whitewater canoe slalom competitor) was the first recipient of the new bursary.
The Legacy of Richard & Rose
Richard Moreton, founder and first Chair of Swale Youth Development Fund, suffered a fatal heart attack on 20th March 1991 - he was 53 years old. Rose, his wife, picked up the torch and served as Chair until 2009, when she stepped down from that position but was made the Fund’s first Life President. Rose passed away on 1st August 2019, aged 85. The year before she died, Rose attended a fundraising dinner at which her grandson, Paralympian Steve Brown, was named the third Patron of the SYDF. Through Steve’s patronage, and the service of Christine Brown (Steve’s mum/Rose’s daughter) as a Trustee, the Fund’s connection to the family of its founders lives on.
The charity that Richard, Rose and the original Trustees built has gone from strength to strength. It continually progresses while sustaining strong ties with its community and its own trustees, patrons and recipients. In addition to Steve Brown, the other two Patrons of the Fund are Hon Alderman William (Bill) Boggia and, fittingly, Jayne Torvill OBE who was one of the original inspirations for the entire venture. As mentioned, two members of the founding Committee (Carole Nealey and Alan Bernstein MBE) have remained steadfast trustees for almost 40 years. Two former recipients of SYDF grants have also served on the Committee: Andrew Mason (who stepped down in July 2013 when he took up a position as clarinettist with Leeds Symphony Orchestra) and Sarah Drury (who has been Chair since 2018).
SYDF is completely independent of Swale Borough Council but has enjoyed the long-running support of Council members and officers. In 2009 the Council launched a local response to the nationwide campaign built around the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. From this arose a partnership between the Council and the Fund whereby the Council annually allocated a sum of money for SYDF use. Trustees recommended suitable applicants and the amounts to be awarded to each one. The arrangement continued until 2023 when the Council reluctantly had to end it as a consequence of essential budget cuts.
Since then, SYDF has added multiple other awards to help and honour the ambitious young people of the area:
The Richard Moreton Bursary Fund. Launched by Bill Boggia in 2010, at a lunch celebrating the 25th anniversary of SYDF. This bursary is awarded annually with an upper limit of £2,000 (the limit is reviewed every year).
Pat Sandle, former Mayor of Swale, instituted an award in 2013 as a gesture of her support for the Fund. The Trustees nominate an individual who has been helped by the fund and achieved particularly highly within the previous year. Pat then presents the recipient with a trophy bearing the inscription: Swale Youth Development Fund Annual Award to a young person who has reached a high level of achievement during the year.
The Gerry Cassell Annual Special Award. Gerry Cassell was a devoted supporter of SYDF from the time it was founded right up to his death in 2014. This award was established by the Committee in order to honour Gerry’s memory - it is given to an outstanding individual, the sum awarded being at the discretion of Trustees.
