Our history

Resurgo relaunches under the Spear brand, with a bold new look and total focus on the Spear Programme.

We are partnering with York Vineyard Church and The Mount Church in St Helens, to deliver the programme to local people aged 16-24 who are not in education, employment or training (NEET).

Spear passes another milestone: 11,000 young people enrolled on the Spear Programme since it started.  

Delivered in partnership with Alive Church and Holy Trinity Hastings, Resurgo is excited to offer life-transforming location to young people in Gateshead and Hastings – serving as a demonstration of growing geographical reach across the country, and taking the total number of Spear Centres to 17. 

Employees were surveyed on six areas (Reward and Recognition, Instilling Pride, Information Sharing, Empowerment, Wellbeing and Job Satisfaction), and needed to score highly across the board to achieve the award. The Sunday Times called out Resurgo’s “open, supportive and fun” culture and “strong focus on diversity and inclusion”. 

Since launching 20 years ago from one location in Hammersmith, west London, Resurgo’s Spear Programme reaches the milestone of having coached 10,000 young people from 17 locations across the UK. 

Following Jo Rice’s departure at the end of 2023 after 20 years at Resurgo, Iona Ledwidge is appointed as her successor.

2023 marks 20 years since Resurgo was founded in west London by Revd Tom Jackson MBE and Jo Rice, who had a vision to bring lasting change to young people experiencing poverty who were not able to access the opportunities that were available to them. Watch our 20th-anniversary film here. 

This month, we enrolled our 9,000th trainee onto our award-winning Spear Programme, which supports 16–24-year-olds facing barriers to employment with the skills and mindset they need to step into their full potential and thrive in work.

Delivered in partnership with Trinity Cheltenham, the programme will be pioneering a new phase in Spear’s development, by delivering a new and streamlined version.

Christopher Wagstaff, Centre Manager, says, “We are so excited to be launching Spear Cheltenham in January. We cannot wait to start welcoming young people and to work with them to realise their potential.” 

HRH Prince Charles visits a Re-Work taster session run as part of a Love Your Neighbour event for Afghan Nationals. Resurgo is excited to host the session at HTB Earl’s Court, where HRH hears directly from those who have fled Afghanistan about their experiences.

With the desire to make the award-winning Spear Programme more accessible for young people all over the UK, Resurgo tailors a lighter-touch model, which we launch in Preston.

Resurgo partners with Christ Church, Clifton, to launch Spear Bristol, our fourth centre to open outside of London as part of our ambition to expand across the UK. Bristol’s Centre Manager says, “Being from Bristol myself, I always hoped we could bring Spear to this city, and I am so excited to see that become a reality.”

Resurgo sets itself strategic goals for this year with a new clear mission statement – to inspire and equip organisations to bring about ambitions and sustainable social change through our expertise in coaching, impact management and programme delivery.

… has worked with more than 27 clients, delivering over 2,160 hours of coaching to nearly 550 individuals. Clients spanned various sectors and industries from finance to healthcare.

Resurgo’s CEO Jo Rice and Junior Bayode (a Resurgo Trustee) visit N0. 10 to discuss sentencing strategies with Myles Stacey.

Resurgo is delighted to be one of five ‘Highly Commended’ organisations in the new Princess Royal Training Award Covid Commendation, recognising our exemplary training, learning and development response in the face of Covid-19.

As Covid-19 restrictions ease, Resurgo is buzzing to return to in-person delivery of the Spear Programme and our Resurgo Consulting services.

17 years since our first Spear centre opened its doors in Hammersmith, we celebrate its 100^th cohort of trainees. Since its inception, Spear Hammersmith and Fulham has supported more than 1400 young people, some of whom join this celebration to speak about their journeys since 2004.

Resurgo partners with LOVECHURCH to open a new Spear centre in Bournemouth, continuing our growth across the UK and allowing us to reach more young people facing different barriers to employment.

In response to the rise in unemployment stemming from the Covid19 crisis, Resurgo launches Re-Work. Taking our expertise in employment coaching from the Spear Programme, we partner with different churches to support adults who are experiencing unemployment.

Resurgo partners with Bridge Community Church to launch the Spear Programme in Leeds. This centre launches in line with Resurgo’s ambition to expand across the UK, to help change the lives of young people who are facing different barriers to getting into work or education.

Resurgo partners with Bridge Community Church to launch the Spear Programme in Leeds. This centre launches in line with Resurgo’s ambition to expand across the UK, to help change the lives of young people who are facing different barriers to getting into work or education.

Resurgo seeks to expand its social impact across the UK through more Spear Centres, Resurgo Ventures and Resurgo Consulting 

Resurgo founder Tom Jackson is appointed Member of the British Empire in Her Majesty the Queen’s Birthday Honours, for services to young people and the community.

Resurgo partners with St Peter’s Brighton to launch the award-winning Spear Programme in Brighton in September - the first Spear Centre to open outside London. The centre’s work aims to change the lives of 90 young people from disadvantaged backgrounds each year.

Resurgo Consulting launches, to provide coaching services to organisations to increase trust and improve outcomes,  through a flagship Coaching for Leadership Programme and bespoke offerings.

By 2018, Spear is operating in eight different centres across London, and has reached a total of 5,000 trainees.

First cohort of 7 entrepreneurs creating social impact in areas such as trafficking, suporting ex-offenders into work and addressing food poverty.

Resurgo celebrates 15 years! This is an important milestone in the life of the organisation, and we’re so grateful to our supporters for making this possible.

Resurgo is chosen as a winner of the prestigious Princess Royal Training Award, which is given to organisations whose internal training is recognised to be of exceptional quality. Following an inspection by an independent assessor, we were thrilled to be named as a recipient, along with 40 other UK businesses and organisations.

Resurgo is awarded the ERSA Award for Services to Youth Unemployment, in recognition of the Spear programme. The ERSA Employability Awards seek to celebrate people and organisations working across the employment support sector to help jobseekers in their journey towards employment, including specialist employment support organisations, personal advisors, employers and jobseekers themselves.

Resurgo Ventures is launched, with a vision to start building a new generation of leading businesses looking to make an unbelievable difference in the world.

Resurgo wins the Guardian Charity Awards for our strong contribution to social welfare, excellence and innovation among small and medium-sized charities

In a delightful echo to our original inspiration, former US President and Nobel Peace Prize winner Jimmy Carter, visits Resurgo in honour of Nelson Mandela’s commitment to highly effective local community organisations. Resurgo was selected by The Elders, a group of global leaders gathered by Mandela, to work for peace and human rights.

Multi-award-winning comedian, actor and writer, Miranda Hart says “I’m honoured to be Resurgo’s Ambassador – the work is a huge inspiration to me and I hope you’ll join me by getting involved.”

Two more Spear Centres open, in Shepherd’s Bush and Fulham, taking the total reach to 1,000 young people.

David Cameron visits Spear Hammersmith, commenting: ‘I have seen at first hand the difference you are making, giving people the motivation and practical life skills they need to make a success of their lives.’

Resurgo Trust receives an initial grant of £50,000, together with pro bono support

A second Spear centre opens on the World’s End estate in Chelsea.

Resurgo was constituted as a charitable company as co-founder Jo Rice joins the organisation. The name means “I rise up again” to reflect that the Spear Programme unleashes young people’s potential.

Jo Rice, along with intern Simcha Hutton, launches the first Spear Programme in a mission hall in Hammersmith with ten young people from the local community. Five complete the programme and get into work.

A group of trustees from St.Paul’s Hammersmith began to gather together to create a charity which would provide advice and training to local people.

Living in South Africa, Resurgo Co-Founder Tom Jackson was struck by the example of Nelson Mandela and the spirit of “nation-building” he released in others. Tom encountered ordinary people that were inspired to create jobs, build homes and volunteer in hospitals, to help equip those facing challenging circumstances to change their lives. Upon return to the UK, Tom begins to consider – what might a similar movement of citizens look like to strengthen society in the UK?