Charity calls for your backing

By Elaine Okyere

A Pinner charity is in the running to win a national competition and the chance to star in a TV show.
Transitions, a charity based in Dawlish Drive, is in the semi-finals of the National Lottery Awards 2008 and has the chance to win £2,000 and be featured in a BBC1 programme.
The charity, which is now in its second year, focuses on helping young people with learning disabilities deal with the challenge of finding a job and adjusting to life after leaving school. The scheme seeks to find 16-26-year-olds work placements in businesses so they can get the experience of working in a professional environment, which will hopefully lead to permanent employment.
Ranu Mehta-Radia, the Transitions development officer, said: "We're so pleased that we've reached the semi-finals, we're hoping the public really get behind us and vote, it would be amazing to win.
"For these young people it is difficult and we seek to engage people with learning disabilities when they are leaving school or trying to find a job."
Transitions runs workshops and courses for young people, these include First Impressions, a beauty and complementary therapies course to pamper women with learning disabilities and teach them how to make themselves more presentable for job interviews.
Emily Minney, of Boxtree Lane, Harrow Weald, did a work placement at a community project, Link Up, through Transitions and also completed the First Impressions course, which helped her secure a job. The 25-year-old who has Downs's syndrome works now for Starbucks in Pinner after completing a work placement there last year.
She said: "I really enjoy working, I get on with everyone. It really helped me, if I hadn't had got this job I would still be working at Link Up but thanks to them I have a job."
Mrs Mehta reasons that things most people find easy are a challenge for those with disabilities.
She said: "I found we would send someone to an interview and they wouldn't know how to get there.
"Each person has their strengths and I want to show that the employers. I don't like saying they have a disability as they all have abilities."
Transitions is one of 10 projects in the best education project category. Public voting for the semi-finals starts ends at midday on Friday 4 July. To register your vote for Transitions call 0845 386 6146 or log on to www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk/awards.