On Monday 15th April we held our annual ReachOut Thankyou Event in London!
We invited all our London volunteers and Project Leaders to the Salesforce Tower to thank them for their commitment to ReachOut and for all their hard work during the academic year. We presented a range of awards to recognise our fantastic mentors and project leaders who have really gone above and beyond this year – a huge congratulations to you all!
We also heard from different members of the ReachOut community and even had a little surprise at the end of the ceremony, with the young people themselves having prepared some messages for their mentors thanking them for everything they’ve done.
During the evening we heard from one of our amazing Project Leaders, Ayman, who runs two of our Year 5 club projects in London. She shared some lovely stories from her groups, and expressed how nice it was to hear her mentees always being so vocal about their enjoyment of ReachOut during the sessions. She also spoke about the importance of community and how ReachOut brings ‘Project Leaders, mentors and mentees together in a beautiful and seamless way’, which is something that fills her with a lot of positivity. It was heart-warming to hear the joy that being part of ReachOut brings to not only the mentees, but also to the wider ReachOut community.
We also had the pleasure of hearing from one of our mentors, Matt, who has been volunteering with us for the past two years and also helped us secure our stunning new venue. He spoke enthusiastically about the positive impact that ReachOut has had on the young people on his project, and reflected on how beneficial such a programme would have been for himself when he was younger. It was lovely to hear Matt’s enthusiasm for ReachOut and how our projects really resonate with him.
After the awards ceremony, mentors, Project Leaders and staff all had the opportunity to socialise and share anecdotes from their projects and their young people. It was a perfect wrap up for the evening!
A huge thank you to everyone who joined us and to Salesforce for being such wonderful hosts and providing a space with such beautiful views! Everyone loved the fantastic 360 views across London and being able to watch the sun set over the city. It was lovely celebrating the year with so many of our ReachOut mentors and Project Leaders. Thank you for an absolutely brilliant evening!
Below you can find the full list of our nominees and award winners.
Bronze Award Winners (for volunteering 30+ hours):
Silver Award Winners (for volunteering 50+ hours):
Gold Award Winners (for volunteering 75+ hours):
Platinum Award Winner (for volunteering 100+ hours):
Fairness Award
Nominees
Winner
Good Judgement Award
Nominees
Winner
Self-control Award
Nominees
Winner
Staying Power Award
Nominees
Winner
Club Mentor of the Year Award
Nominees
Winner
Academy Mentor of the Year Award
Nominees
Winner
Club Project Leader of the Year Award
Nominees
Winner
Academy Project Leader of the Year Award
Nominees
Winner
Club Project of the Year Award
Nominees
Winner
Academy Project of the Year Award
Nominees
Winner
The Extra Mile Award- Project Leader
Outstanding Contribution – Project Leader
Outstanding Contribution – Mentor
Matt Barham
“At first, I was really hesitant to take on the Project Leader role, despite having mentored with ReachOut. However, with the support of the team I’ve really developed my skills. For example, at the Mentee Graduation, I stood up in front of 200 people and presented an award which is something I would never ever have been able to have done before, and isn’t an opportunity I could gain in my other situations.”
Amy McCutcheon, Project Leader at ReachOut Academy, Dean Trust Ardwick, Manchester.
“Being able to spend the summer working at Rede Partners, was an amazing experience. Whether it was working in HR or Finance, I learned so much about the world of private equity, made great connections with fantastic people and I got to learn first-hand what it would be like to work there! I really believe that I can go onto build the career I want now I’ve been a part for a workplace for real”
Victor Adekunle, 18 years old, ReachOut Ambassador, London
“When I first my mentee, she was very reluctant to participate in the sessions. Now, I see a completely different person! Her confidence has grown and she is happy to join in! She still has some self-doubt when it comes to academic work, but that’s what I hope to help her overcome, because she is a very bright person!
Through mentoring, I’ve learnt I’m a lot more patient than I realised. There will be days where she refuses to participate and those are the days that I really see the importance of the character strengths, for both the mentees and the mentors. It also makes it easier for the mentee to understand the character strengths, when I use them myself”
Myrtle, ReachOut Club mentor at Tufnell Primary School, London
“There are more distractions than ever outside of school, and the commitment of our students to attend ReachOut sessions is testament to the value they place on the relationships they foster there, and the challenge and enjoyment they provide.
ReachOut’s focus on communication skills and character development has become an important aspect of our provision of support for these students. The opportunity to relate to a positive role- model other than their usual teachers is key to the programme’s impact, and the evidence of this has been seen in the students’ attendance, resilience and to their overall progress across all the subjects in the school.”
Thomas Janvrin, Assistant Vice Principal at the Petchey Academy London
