From Vision to Reality – The Beginning
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The Story Begins
It all started at a networking event in March 2023.
Manchester-born Mike Alleyne, now Co-Director of Genuine Futures CIC, stood up to share his vision. Having grown up in poverty during the 1970s and 80s, Mike knew first-hand the struggles of being a young person on the fringes — surrounded by the lure of Greater Manchester’s gang culture and fighting to carve out a different path.
After listening, someone turned to him and said:
“You need to meet Sam — he’s got a similar vision.”
That introduction brought him together with Sam Smith, a Bolton lad who had faced his own struggles with homelessness, sofa surfing, exclusion, and being failed by the system.
From the moment they met, both realised they were driven by the same purpose: to stop young people falling through the cracks.
“We met and we just clicked with our values,” Mike recalls.
Sam adds: “Mike’s such a great coach, mentor, my brother in business and a grafter. From day one, I knew we could build something special together — we share the same family values.”
This chance meeting became the foundation of Genuine Futures CIC — a youth empowerment organisation rooted in lived experience and committed to creating pathways for NEET and SEND young people across Greater Manchester, Cheshire, and Lancashire.