“How selfish soever man may be supposed, there are evidently some principles in his nature, which interest him in the fortune of others, and render their happiness necessary to him, though he derives nothing from it, except the pleasure of seeing it.”
Adam Smith 1723 – 1790
Growing up in a Thameside war-torn community called Rotherhithe may seem to give a person some major disadvantages. However, with loving, hard-working parents and dedicated teachers, life chances were granted to me. My father was Welsh and a philosophic trade unionist, my mother of Irish decent was practical and gave my brother and me life skills.
My kid brother and I both received excellent educations. He became a successful very senior academic, for me it was to be the life of an entrepreneur. So, after a varied business apprenticeship, I determined at 32 a course on building what became a very large international business, The Grass Roots Group PLC. I stepped down as its leader following a life-threatening illness and sold it on to others. So, “What next?” was the question!
Two things influenced the next course of action. The first was advice from my father not long before he died, “Son, remember there are no pockets in a shroud”. The second was the honour of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II pinning on me an MBE for the single citation of “Services to Corporate Social Responsibility”. These totally unconnected events have determined what I am doing for the good of Society.
Under the banner of Future Proof Enterprises and with people I respect, a range of services have been created to focus on what I consider important issues. Each one a ‘not for personal profit’ company. Should they generate a surplus, that surplus will be sent to the David Evans Grass Roots Foundation dedicated to supporting and fostering education projects for younger folk. In essence, making donations is a fine thing, but as these enterprises thrive and grow their contribution will continue well beyond my mortal life. They will serve purposes that in themselves are needed and in being successful feed the purposes of the Foundation. To use the wisdom of Mahatma Gandhi “if one takes care of the means, the end will take care of itself”. Gandhi died three months after I was born.
What follows on this site is a sketch map of the ventures within the current state of my plan. They all need my help and financial support, but all are in hands I trust. If you have time please read, digest and if you can, offer help and support.
In the mid-1980s my Grass Roots enterprise was growing and soon outstripped the office building we occupied. We worked cheek by jowl in a 19th Century building built by the Rothchild family. In my youthful exuberance I persuaded myself to invest in buying the Pendley Manor Estate.
In the mid-1980s my Grass Roots enterprise was growing and soon outstripped the office building we occupied. We worked cheek by jowl in a 19th Century building built by the Rothchild family. In my youthful exuberance I persuaded myself to invest in buying the Pendley Manor Estate.
My youngest offspring Matilda and I decided on a Saturday tour of some of London’s great features. We would start with the Natural History Museum. She had grown up in a country environment. This trip was to prove to be a damascene moment.
As a kid I delivered newspapers and worked on markets. It was what kids from docklands did but in my case in the smogs of London. A piece of legislation in 1956 was an attempt to do good and clean up our air. It was a start, but the work never finishes, and the law of unintended consequences seems always to apply.
