Supporting community mental health initiatives in need of funding assistance
What we do.
At The Soke Foundation we believe that good mental health is a key component of living life well and, through the distribution of grants, we aim to support the work of local organisations that have developed effective solutions for the mental health needs of their communities.
Beneficiaries.
We are committed to supporting non-religious and non-politically affiliated initiatives working towards improved mental health. Funding beneficiaries are required to be directly delivering services to the public and must demonstrate good governance, solid leadership and a clear commitment to the welfare of their constituents.
The foundation’s first beneficiary in 2022/23 is Our Time - an organisation that provides support to children and young people whose parent(s) suffer from a mental illness. One part of their work concentrates on designing and delivering monthly workshops in which families in which one or more parent has a mental health issue (ranging from depression to addiction to schizophrenia) attend together and have the opportunity to share their experiences with others in similar circumstances.
Already present in 15 boroughs, The Soke Foundation was instrumental in extending the charity’s reach to its local community by funding the establishment of a monthly workshop in the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea.
To find out more, please click here.
Our background.
Established in 2020, the foundation is the non-profit arm - and financial beneficiary - of The Soke Ltd, a private cognitive wellbeing centre based in Chelsea. The foundation derives its income through a portion of The Soke’s profits and its overheads are underwritten by the trustees.
Our trustees.
Maryam Meddin is the founder of The Soke Ltd, a centre providing a wide array of psychological wellbeing facilities in London. The centre was created with a view to changing cultural norms with respect to the acceptance of mental health services as an essential faction of wellbeing. It is the first such centre to receive an “Outstanding” rating from The Care Quality Commission, the regulator of health and social services.
A law graduate, Maryam subsequently worked in the branding and corporate communications sector for 25 years, and obtained a Masters in Psychotherapy & Counselling Psychology in 2010. In her private capacity she has been a Trustee of a private charitable foundation and in her professional capacity has acted as an advisor and consultant to numerous non-profit organisations over the years.
Beth Blood is a committed philanthropist, environmentalist and animal advocate, and is the founder of On the EDGE Conservation, a not-for-profit organisation that acts to change the outlook for often-overlooked Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered (EDGE) species.
Beth holds a BA in Economics from La Trobe University in Melbourne. She moved to the UK in 2011, where she obtained a Masters degree in International Strategy and Diplomacy from the London School of Economics. In addition to her leadership role at On the Edge Conservation and Productions, she is an Honorary Conservation Fellow of the Zoological Society of London and a Trustee of the UK Human Rights Watch Charitable Trust.
Melissa Lesson is a barrister and Partner in the Family department and heads up the Anglo-French family law team at the leading law firm, Mishcon de Reya. She is also head of the firm’s French Group and speaks fluent Italian in addition to French & English.
Melissa has law degrees from both the Universities of London and Paris and was a pupil at 1 Hare Court. She was called to the Bar in 1998 and became a Partner at Mishcon de Reya in 2008.
Melissa speaks at international conferences and is a member of the International Academy of Family Lawyers (IAFL). She leads Mishcon's membership of the French Chamber of Commerce and regularly contributes articles to their website.
Contact us.
info@thesokefoundation.org
152A Walton Street
London SW3 2JJ