How 4,000 Dusty Boxes Are Helping Young People Build Their Futures

By Tracey Fisher – Intact Insurance Archive and Historic Records Director

When I first stepped into a deep-level London storage facility in 2023, I didn’t expect the experience to help change young people’s lives. I was simply there to review what remained of Intact Insurance’s historic archive — more than 4,000 boxes stored in a former air raid shelter, untouched for over two decades.

Inside those boxes were fragments of a 300-year story. While Intact Insurance launched in the UK in 2025, its heritage stretches back to 1710 through companies such as Sun Fire, Royal Insurance, and Liverpool & London & Globe. Over centuries, thousands of items had been collected, stored, moved, and in some cases forgotten.

What I didn’t know then was that this forgotten archive would become a catalyst for opportunity.

A Heritage Hidden Underground

The boxes contained everything from 18th-century insurance policies and fire marks to silverware, medallions, photographs, ledgers — even a burglary claim made by Winston Churchill in 1959.

Some items belonged in museums. Others needed specialist care. Many simply needed to be seen again.

But the scale of the task was overwhelming. No single archive could take everything, and sorting, cataloguing and researching thousands of items felt impossible for one person.

That’s when a new idea began to take shape — one grounded not just in preserving the past, but in investing in the future.

Turning History into Opportunity

Through our existing partnership with UK Youth, we connected with local youth organisations to create a six-month paid placement programme for four young people who had struggled to secure employment.

Their role was simple but vital: open the boxes, sort the contents, organise the materials, and help catalogue the collection as it returned to Liverpool.

What happened next was remarkable.

These young people handled centuries-old documents with care and professionalism. They learned to identify historic items, research provenance, and understand the stories behind each object. They brought energy, curiosity, and pride to work that could easily have felt overwhelming.

And most importantly, they proved themselves.

All four have since secured employment within the insurance industry. The archive didn’t just preserve history – it created futures.

From Boxes to Auctions

As the project progressed, it became clear that some items, while fascinating, didn’t have a direct link to Intact Insurance’s core heritage. Rather than leave them hidden away, we realised they could do something powerful: raise funds to support more young people.

Working with auctioneer Thomas Forrester and his team at Special Auction Services, we identified more than 700 items for two special auctions:

Anyone can take part – online, by phone or in person – and every bid will help support UK Youth’s work.

Why This Matters: Backing Young People Through Youth Work

Young people today are navigating an increasingly complex and uncertain world – facing challenges around employment, confidence, and access to opportunity. Too many lack the trusted relationships, networks, and support that help them take their next step.

But this is also a story of hope.

Across the UK, youth workers and youth organisations are creating safe spaces where young people can build confidence, develop skills, and find their sense of purpose. UK Youth exists to widen the reach and deepen the impact of this work, supporting a national network of organisations that change lives every day.

This project is one small example of what happens when businesses and youth work come together – connecting untapped potential with real opportunity.

Building Aspirations: Turning Potential into Opportunity

The archive placements sit within a wider, growing partnership between Intact Insurance and UK Youth through the Building Aspirations programme, designed to support young people aged 18–24 who are not in education, employment or training, or at risk of becoming so.

Through youth work–led support, employer engagement, and financial scholarships, the programme helps young people build confidence, develop employability skills, and take meaningful steps into work.

Since launching, Building Aspirations has already:

Supported over 370 young people, many from disadvantaged communities
Expanded from Manchester and Liverpool to Leeds, Halifax, and now London
Seen 85% of participants feel positive about their future
Trained 12 Youth Workers to deliver the Building Aspirations curriculum
Awarded 93 scholarships
Enabled direct employment opportunities, including roles within Intact Insurance

Colleagues from Intact Insurance play a central role as Local Leads, providing direct support to the delivery partners, leveraging their own experience, skills and networks to help youth workers make connections and co-ordinate local activity. Our volunteers also run employability workshops, provide mentoring, insight sessions and scholarship panels, helping young people build confidence and gain real insight into the world of work.

Crucially, it combines what young people say they need – trusted support, real-world insight, and practical opportunities – with what employers can offer.

The archive project brought this to life in a tangible way: turning meaningful work experience into long-term employment outcomes

A Bridge Between Past and Future

This project has shown that heritage can be more than history. It can be a bridge:

Between past and future
Between business and community
Between untapped talent and real careers

The auctions will raise vital funds to help UK Youth continue backing youth organisations and expanding programmes like Building Aspirations – ensuring more young people can access the support they need to thrive.