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For the third year in a row, London Freemasons are supporting Let Me Know (LMK), helping the charity continue its work with young people across the capital at a time when that support feels more important than ever.

A grant of £9,600 will enable LMK to deliver relationship education workshops to 180 young people across London during the 2025–2026 academic year – that’s roughly the equivalent of an entire secondary school year group.

It is a contribution with a very practical purpose, but also a wider significance. LMK is an education charity focused on preventing relationship abuse, domestic abuse and sexual assault. The premise of its work is early intervention: giving young people the understanding and confidence to recognise unhealthy behaviours, challenge harmful attitudes and build more positive relationships from the outset. And if they can do that in schools, not only will they be intervening early enough in youngsters’ lives to make a difference, but they can also give both girls and boys the confidence to call out unacceptable behaviours early, and together.

That mission matters all the more in a climate where concerns are growing around intimate image sharing, bullying, consent and the influence of online misogynistic content. As rates of violence against women and girls continue to rise, and young people are increasingly exposed to harmful online behaviours, LMK’s workshops offer what the charity describes as “a crucial opportunity for prevention before damaging patterns become entrenched”.

The workshops funded by this latest grant will be delivered in schools and community settings across London, helping young people explore difficult but essential topics in a safe and structured way. That ability to open up discussion is one of the reasons LMK’s work has had such a strong response from its education partners. One representative from Arsenal Football Club, which works with the charity, said LMK’s sessions shed light on sensitive topics while creating “a safe environment where the students are able to voice their opinions and challenge their peers respectfully.”

That combination of honesty and safety is central to LMK’s impact. Now in its fifth year of operation, the charity supports more than 6,500 participants a year, equipping them with tools not only to have healthier relationships, but also to reduce their risk of experiencing abuse. Through its 10 Signs programme, LMK is working to empower young people to understand what healthy relationships look like; and just as importantly, to spot the warning signs when something is wrong.

Deirdre Kehoe, CEO of LMK, puts this latest donation in the context of that longer-term work. She said the charity is “grateful to London Freemasons for funding our life-changing work with young people for the third year running”. The support, she added, will equip “another 180 young people across London with the knowledge and skills to take control of their relationships and reduce their risk of experiencing relationship abuse”. Over the course of the three-year partnership, that will bring the total number of young people supported to more than 1,100.

Much of LMK’s work is about helping young people feel better informed, more self-aware and more confident in situations where pressure, confusion or harmful norms can otherwise take hold. Rather than waiting for abuse to happen and then responding, the charity’s approach is to intervene earlier:  to build knowledge, resilience and self-belief before harm occurs.

That preventative role is exactly what London Freemasons are helping to sustain. Paul King of LFC is proud that London Freemasons can continue supporting LMK’s mission for a third consecutive year, describing the charity’s work as “critical to creating change”. He adds that LMK is empowering young people with “the knowledge and confidence to build healthy relationships and recognise unhealthy behaviours”; giving young Londoners the tools to make safer, stronger choices.

The effects of relationship abuse, coercion and harmful online culture can be lasting, but so too can the effects of good education delivered at the right moment. For the 180 young people who will benefit from this year’s workshops, that may mean learning how to question behaviour that once seemed normal, how to understand consent more clearly, or how to recognise the difference between control and care.

For London Freemasons, the grant is another example of targeted support making a difference where it counts: in the lives of young people, in London communities, and in the long-term work of building a safer and healthier future.

This article is part of Arena Magazine Issue 60 – Spring 2026.
Arena Magazine is the official online magazine of the London Freemasons – Metropolitan Grand Lodge and Metropolitan Grand Chapter of London.

Read more articles in Arena Issue 60 here.

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