Last night Kirsty and I watched an interesting show on Channel 4 (Wednesdays, 9pm) where a millionaire goes under cover in a tough deprived area to find a worthy cause that would benefit from their money. This first one showed a 25 year old self made millionaire Ben spending 10 days in Hackney, East London.

The show raised a lot of questions (at least in my mind) about the benefit that such a donation could make in areas of deprivation. How can you ensure that you choose the best place to give the money? Would those who receive money spend it wisely? Would there be resentment from those who didn’t receive anything? Could such a relatively small amount really make a difference? It certainly made good viewing.

After a lot of doubts and confusion, Ben eventually gave his money to a local boxer who’d done a lot for the community, a young guy with aspirations for fashion designs, and ‘Pedro’ the only youth club in the area. It was a very familiar picture: the building was very run-down, in the centre of the community, had few staff or resources, financial issues, attracted all the ‘difficult’ young people, etc, etc. The only reason it was still going at all was down to one dedicated individual who kept the club open even when he couldn’t be paid to do it.

There are hundreds of these clubs scattered across the country. I used to work in one. It wasn’t easy, but an essential lifeline for the many young people who attended. When Ben chose Pedro as the place to donate his money, he wasn’t investing in the building, but rather placing his trust in the person who ran it – endorsing all the blood, sweat and tears that had gone into the place and recognising that this one person has and will influence many, many more.

Generally, the show seemed quite balanced giving both a positive and negative view of living in such an urban place. I particularly liked when Ben asked a group of young men if the area was really as bad as he’d heard – they all gave a resounding “No”, it was the police who caused the problems! Needless to say, I’m looking forward to following the rest of the series!