{"id":59196,"date":"2026-04-29T09:39:57","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T13:39:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/royal-charity-marks-50-years-supporting-youth-career-development-with-nyc-gala\/"},"modified":"2026-04-29T09:39:57","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T13:39:57","slug":"royal-charity-marks-50-years-supporting-youth-career-development-with-nyc-gala","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/royal-charity-marks-50-years-supporting-youth-career-development-with-nyc-gala\/","title":{"rendered":"Royal Charity Marks 50 Years Supporting Youth Career Development with NYC Gala"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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NEW YORK \u2014 A Scottish business owner who built his wealth through online tire sales says his career path might have led him to the funeral industry instead, if not for crucial support he received as a teenager from what is now King Charles III’s charitable organization.<\/p>

Mike Welch, who dealt with dyslexia and came from a blue-collar family, had difficulty with college entrance tests and began working at a tire installation shop after dropping out of school at 15. After losing that position, he visited the Liverpool employment office where job postings included both a funeral director position \u2014 which he describes as likely “great” but “pretty grim” \u2014 and an opportunity to compete for business funding through a charitable program.<\/p>

Welch chose the latter option and within a day found himself in a church surrounded by antique furnishings and welcoming elderly volunteers. Though the setting bore no resemblance to “Shark Tank,” he remembers feeling like a contestant on the reality program as he pitched his idea to offer affordable tires to specialized customers like his car enthusiast friends.<\/p>

This marked Welch’s introduction to what was then called The Prince’s Trust, which was renamed The King’s Trust when Charles assumed the throne in 2023. “It wasn’t a well thought out plan, really,” explained Welch, who now lives in Florida. “But they backed me. And they backed my enthusiasm. And they gave me a chance.”<\/p>

Countless British citizens share similar experiences with The Prince’s Trust and The King’s Trust, organizations that have assisted young people in building careers since 1976. Charles established the charity using his Royal Navy discharge payment during a period of significant economic hardship in the United Kingdom. Over five decades, the King’s Trust reports helping more than 1.3 million young British people through educational and career programs, producing numerous success stories including actor Idris Elba and fashion designer Ozwald Boateng.<\/p>

During Charles and Queen Camilla’s inaugural state visit to America since his coronation, their trip includes recognition of The King’s Trust as the organization expands its influence across more than 24 nations, including the United States. The charity will mark its 50th anniversary Wednesday evening with a celebration in New York.<\/p>

While British Royal Family members typically support existing charities as patrons to increase visibility and donations in their regions, experts note that Charles’s continued commitment to youth employment demonstrates his personal investment in creating his own foundation and maintaining his association with its growing mission even after becoming monarch.<\/p>

“The harsh reality today is that the need for the work of people like the trust is growing at a rate far faster than we can grow,” stated Jeremy Green, who serves as both a trustee for the King’s Trust Group Company and chairman of the King’s Trust USA.<\/p>

The organization’s international presence primarily includes nations that were historically under British governance.<\/p>

The trust connects with young people through educational institutions and established nonprofit partnerships. Programs include Get Hired, which assists youth \u2014 many without college degrees \u2014 in securing initial employment, and Development Awards, grants that help cover career-advancing purchases like computers or professional attire.<\/p>

The Enterprise Challenge operates as an after-school initiative where students create businesses addressing local community issues.<\/p>

“What we see every time is that young people want to be helped. They want to be taken seriously,” Green explained. “And it’s not just giving them money. It’s giving them opportunity.”<\/p>

LaKenya Sharpe, who leads The Collins Academy High School in Chicago’s North Lawndale area, says her students have been transformed by the serious attention they received from The King’s Trust after winning the Enterprise Challenge for creating C2C: Crops2Customers. Their enterprise cultivates and sells fresh produce to local retailers in an area with limited access to stores offering fresh vegetables.<\/p>

“A lot of times our babies, especially in this community, feel like no one’s watching, no one is looking, no one is paying attention,” Sharpe explained. “This shows that they can achieve anything. Their belief now is ‘Oh, other people are watching. Other people are seeing this.’ And they ask ‘How far can this go?’ My answer is, ‘It can go as far as you guys take it. Don’t let anything limit you.'”<\/p>

According to King’s Trust USA CEO Victoria Gore, Wednesday’s celebration aims to highlight “the very best of British-American philanthropy through the individual arts, culture, investments between the two countries.”<\/p>

The event occurs during a period of diplomatic strain between the longtime allies’ elected leadership. President Donald Trump has expressed frustration with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s decision not to back U.S. military action in Iran.<\/p>

Trust officials stress that anniversary planning began well before recent tensions emerged. However, Charles’s focus on shared philanthropic connections could help emphasize common interests, according to JP Tribe, a University of Liverpool law lecturer who studies royal charitable patronages.<\/p>

“Hopefully the gala is a kind of event which shows that both countries have and can continue to engage in very positive public benefit activity that helps the most disadvantaged in our society,” Tribe observed.<\/p>

The King’s Trust US aims to serve 1,000 American youth this year.<\/p>

Their primary partnership involves City Year, an educational nonprofit that connected The Collins Academy with The King’s Trust and places young adults as teaching assistants in schools nationwide. AmeriCorps volunteers are helping test an American version of the “Get Hired” initiative. The organization also works with nonprofit Per Scholas and Maryland educational districts to pilot additional programs.<\/p>

Gore notes that participating students typically concentrate on their immediate neighborhoods. The objective is demonstrating how they can create positive change in their own communities.<\/p>

“Keeping employment in communities and keeping people in communities is actually the key to everyone’s success,” Gore said.<\/p>

Welch emphasizes that meaningful impact doesn’t require massive financial commitments. He received a 500-pound ($677) grant and, equally valuable, a mentor who offered office space for the startup he would eventually sell to Michelin for 50 million pounds ($68 million).<\/p>

He believes the framework for The King’s Trust’s successful expansion already exists, requiring only the development of relationships with local partners who can reach those most in need.<\/p>

“What we see in Chicago, what we see in Orlando, is really no different \u2014 with obvious local nuances,” explained Welch, who has since launched the Anglo Atlantic advisory and investment company. “But it’s not very different to what we see in Liverpool, Birmingham, Manchester.”<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The King’s Trust, formerly known as The Prince’s Trust, celebrates its 50th anniversary of helping young people launch careers through education and employment programs. The charity, founded by King Charles III in 1976, has assisted over 1.3 million young people in Britain and is expanding its reach to the United States.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":59195,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[831],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-59196","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-us-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/news-1777469997523.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pbtNqq-foM","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":35173,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/pope-leo-xiv-names-fellow-augustinian-to-lead-vatican-charity-operations\/","url_meta":{"origin":59196,"position":0},"title":"Pope Leo XIV Names Fellow Augustinian to Lead Vatican Charity Operations","author":"Admin","date":"March 12, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Pope Leo XIV has selected Archbishop Luis Mar\u00edn de San Mart\u00edn, a Spanish member of his own religious order, to oversee the Vatican's charitable activities. 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