A battle has commenced to save a celebrated children's charity, which is set to close in March 2008 unless it receives substantial government funding.
The London-based Kids Company has struggled to keep up with its annual running costs and is on the verge of closure.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, is one of a host of key figures who have pledged support to keep the charity going.
In a speech at the charity's first conference next week , the Archbishop will call for a "strong and clear" message to be sent to the Government.
He will criticise current policies that are leaving a "very substantial percentage of our young people... at the side of the road as the rest of us go on".
In addition, the Church of England's most senior figure will say: "It has been said that you can gauge the moral temperature of a society by the way it treats its most vulnerable children.
"Are we as a society prepared to advocate for those who don't have voices of their own? And, above all, are we prepared to put the necessary resources, skills and commitment into the nurturing of our children?"
Reports last month stated that Kids Company would be forced to issue redundancy notices to staff at the end of October unless the Government commits itself to a long-term funding package.
Within days of that news being published, the Government contacted the charity and entered into discussions about increasing funding.
