What is A-Star?
We believe that all young people have the potential to be ‘a star’. We attract and engage young people to participate in sport, music and the arts, using industry professionals to put on high quality recruitment events.
From this initial engagement we offer a range of innovative programmes, support and mentoring designed to provide positive pathways to education, training, employment and healthy lifestyles
A-Star is the brainchild of Fitz Hall, Ken Bonsu and Ronnie Wilson and was set up with the aim of encouraging young people to express themselves in a positive manner and to make it possible to be around role models who do not glamorise crime, guns or drugs. With the death rate among teenagers increasing, the team wanted to do something.
So the name A-Star was chosen (A-Star = every child is A-Star) which echoes the UK government initiative “Every child matters”. With those core beliefs in mind and heart, the guys set up a unique company that hopes to offer real opportunities for young people with a wide-ranging choice of activities to participate in and hopefully gain employment in a chosen field.
About Us
Meet the Team
Ken Bonsu
Co-Founder
Ken’s first success in social enterprise was when he used his music industry knowledge to create a campaign in Barking and Dagenham to stop an epidemic of young pregnancies, in 2006 the average age of a grandmother was in their mid-30’s.
The OFSTED approved campaign; entitled The Respect Programme encouraged boys to respect the wishes of a young woman’s right to decide. This was communicated through music and loosely based on Janet Jackson’s song entitled smash hit “Let’s wait awhile”.
The respect program inspired a vision and an understanding that many young people were incorrectly perceived and it wasn’t all their fault. Ken goes on to say “We just don’t speak to young people in a way that reaches them.
Understanding the power of sport and music Ken spoke to his football friends and music companions Fitz Hall and Ronnie Wilson to establish what we now recognise as the A- Star movement which started in 2007, using footballers as role models, mentors and coaches. This inspired the A-Star league.
Fitz Hall
Co-Founder
Co founder Fitz Hall believes that the A-Star initiative “is a great chance for professional footballers to truly give something back” That’s why he is 100% committed to A-Star. Having grown up in Walthamstow Fitz understands the challenged the youth face on a day to day basis in an exclusive interview on "Barclays Premier league world Show" Hall enhanced on this by saying At the moment we are going through a bad spell with people getting stabbed and shot at that's what we want to clear up, Fitz goes on to say that "we have done events in the community that have been of value but eventually we want to set up our own league. This we hope will happen in the not too distant future.
Fitz having fought for his dream and finally achieving it by signing his first professional football contract aged 21,wanted to give back to the community that had given so much to him.
Ronnie Wilson
Executive Director
Award winning record producer and manager Ronnie Wilson first became involved with A-Star from its conception and was inspired by the principles which A-Star is founded upon, which is to create pathways to employment and create sustainable projects for young people.
Through the years Ronnie maintains good working relationships with celebrities, artists and sports stars from around the globe in the capacity of executive producer/Manager and encourages those who would like to contribute their time and mentorship skills to be apart of A-Star
Ronnie says, “Our intention is to gather industry professionals to nurture the enthusiasm and creative potential of young people, regardless of their talent or ability. A-Star makes that possible.”
Charles Pike
Co-Trustee
Charles is a private client lawyer specialising in personal estate, trust, wealth and capital tax planning for both UK and non-UK-domiciled individuals and institutions. He acts for a wide range of clients including entrepreneurs, sportsmen, private banks and trustees, both onshore and offshore and for a number of charities.Charles qualified as a solicitor in 1974 and joined Forsters as a partner in 2007. He became a consultant in 2014.
Therese Wittner
Executive Director USA
An intensive care registered nurse for over 15 years, Therese graduated Albany Law School with honors in 1999 and went to work for over a decade as a business representative for the New York State Nurses Association – a non-profit membership association representing unionized nurses in their professional practice.
It has been her vision since she was 16 to positively impact our World, and work with children. Therese's law school research paper, written for her Non-profit Law class, was entitled Teach A Man To Fish: After-School Programs Work.
Working with the A-Star foundation is a natural next step for Therese who brings her expertise and know how to the foundation to expand its reach in the USA and amplify A-Star's innovative ideas on engaging young people, which A-Star has been doing now for over ten years.
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