At Local Village Network we believe that it takes a village to raise a child. In helping professionals volunteer an hour of their time, we bring components of the village community together to make a positive change to the lives of vulnerable young people.  

Our Story

LVN is a grassroots charity set up in 2014. Founder Rachael Box and a team of volunteers worked with over 300 young people to create a series of programmes that put young people in control of their future.

Developing the LVN Model: Evidence Based Design

We worked with behaviour scientists at Ogilvy Change and educationalists to create programmes that maximise the benefit of one hour of time – we call this The Power of an Hour.  

Although one hour may not seem much, our theory of change states that an average of 10 interactions between a young person and professional adults outside their usual network is enough to change their life path. 

As a result of our extensive work with tutors and students at City & Islington college, feedback and collaboration from young people has informed the development of our programmes and services. Candi students have collaborated with LVN on many projects including testing, creating an advertisement of the app and putting on community events. Read the full article here. 

“Countering network poverty as a precursor to gang membership: bridging and social capital through temporary migration research and practice” – LVN CEO Rachael Box & Robert F. Hesketh, Lecturer in Criminal Justice at Liverpool John Moores University. Paper available here.