As people look to support their favourite charities in the run up to Christmas, ThinkForward is taking part in a fundraising initiative that doubles donations. 

For the first time, we are joining the Big Give Christmas Challenge which will see donations matched. That means twice the impact for your pound.  

The Big Give Christmas Challenge 2018 runs from midday on Tuesday 27th November through to midday on Tuesday 4th December. You can visit our project page here.

Donations are being matched by the Childhood Trust which means: 

• £100 becomes £200, providing a young person with a month of intensive coaching and employability support 
• £50 becomes £100, enabling ten young people to attend business mentoring
• £25 becomes £50, covering the cost of a work insight day for six young people, providing their first introductions to the world of work 

Every donation will make double the difference and all the money raised will go towards supporting the most disadvantaged young people to unlock their potential and secure a brighter future.  

One of our London students credits his ThinkForward coach with keeping him in school. Sanim said:  “If I didn’t have my ThinkForward coach I think I would be in a pupil referral unit or the school’s learning support unit, or I would have been excluded. I’ve not been in the exclusion room even once since I joined ThinkForward. Before, I used to be in every couple of weeks.”  

Now Sanim is doing well at school and working hard towards his GCSEs next year. He’s thinking about a career in engineering and has also taken part in an insight day at a car company which really opened his eyes. He said: “My coach has helped me understand who I am and that there are lots of opportunities outside of the area where I live. If I explore I can find more things. My coach took me to work experience at BMW for a day. It made me realise that there are so many opportunities out there.” 

Ashley McCaul ThinkForward’s CEO said: “We have an ambitious target to raise £60,000 in just one week to help fund our work with young people like Sanim, who benefit from our unique five-year coaching programme. The Big Give Christmas Challenge is a fantastic opportunity for supporters to double their donation at a time of year when many people are keen to help others.” 

You can donate to ThinkForward here.

 

ThinkForward is delighted to announce the appointment of a new chief executive, Ashley McCaul.

Ashley is an experienced leader who has held senior positions in the not-for-profit and education sectors for over 20 years. She is a strong advocate and ambassador for social mobility and is passionate about transforming the lives of disadvantaged young people.

For the last 13 years, Ashley has led the charity, London Skills for Growth, a post 16 education provider with bases across East and South East London. 

As someone who benefited from support, high quality careers advice and vocational learning early in her life, Ashley is incredibly passionate and committed to ThinkForward’s vision.  She brings with her a wealth of experience of engaging directly with young people, headteachers and employers and an in-depth knowledge of the post-16 landscape.

Ashley said: “I was drawn to working for ThinkForward because of its strong reputation for supporting young people to make positive transitions into employment through its unique coaching model.  I am really excited about leading ThinkForward onto the next stage of its development.”

Charlie Green, ThinkForward’s chair said: “The trustees are delighted with Ashley’s appointment and believe this is a very significant step in the growth of ThinkForward. Under Ashley’s leadership ThinkForward will continue to develop its work on transitioning young people into employment and the various range of post 16 education options.”

ThinkForward and our partner, asset management firm ICG, have been celebrating after becoming the first recipients of the Sir Martyn Lewis Award the Lord Mayor’s Dragon Awards. The prestigious new award was inaugurated in recognition of the high calibre of this year’s applications and Sir Martyn’s long-standing service to the awards.

The partnership was celebrated for its work with young people at the London East Alternative Provision school (LEAP) in Tower Hamlets, east London. A ThinkForward coach supports students who have been identified as being at high risk of leaving school and becoming unemployed. ICG not only help to fund the programme, but also open their doors to young people who attend regular mentoring sessions with staff volunteers and valuable work experience opportunities. 

The partnership is now in its seventh year and this award recognises the achievements across the whole span of the collaboration.

The City of London said: “The judges were inspired to award this commendation to ThinkForward for their partnership with ICG Specialist Asset Management for their joint work with difficult to reach young people.”

ThinkForward at LEAP supports students like Rahat who were excluded from mainstream school. He has benefited from mentoring at ICG and, amongst other things, help from his coach with his personal statement and preparation for college interviews. Rahat secured five GCSEs and is now studying for a BTEC in motor vehicle maintenance.

ThinkForward Chairman Charlie Green commented: “ThinkForward and ICG are absolutely thrilled and honoured to win the new Sir Martyn Lewis Award.  Our work together is a great example of a true partnership that has brighter prospects for young people at its heart. Thanks to support from ICG, ThinkForward is working with some of London’s most disengaged young people and enabling and empowering them to develop the qualifications, work readiness skills and aspirations that will support them to get into sustained employment and create a better future.”

Benoit Durteste, Chief Executive Officer of ICG said: “I’d like to add my congratulations to ThinkForward and to the ICG employees who have contributed to their success.  We support ThinkForward in several ways; the most impactful is the time ICG volunteers give each month working with some very challenging young people and encouraging them to develop skills. By acting as positive role models, our mentors provide guidance and support to these young people and the results speak for themselves; over four years, our mentees are four and a half times more likely to achieve a Level 2 qualification.  The Sir Martyn Lewis Award is testament to the efforts of both ThinkForward and our ICG team and it’s fantastic their hard work has been recognised.”

John Bradshaw, LEAP headteacher, was delighted to see the partnership rewarded: “I am very familiar with the work of ThinkForward having worked with them in both mainstream schools and Alternative Provision. Winning the Lord Mayor’s Dragon Award is fantastic recognition for the partnership between ThinkForward, ICG and LEAP. This partnership supports some of the most vulnerable and disaffected young people to transition into the world of work and begin to see some of the opportunities that can be available to them.”