Most of you reading this already know that, today in the UK, you are six times less likely to reach a top third university if you are poor.
Perhaps you already help to change this by volunteering as a tutor with The Access Project. Maybe you are a teacher at an Access Project partner school, or a former student who got to a top third university after joining the programme; maybe you support the charity in a different way. Whatever the case, I think you should be utterly unabashed in your pride in partnering with the charity. Let me give you a personal example to illustrate my point.
My mum died when I was ten. She took her own life. This had a profound effect on me growing up, and continues to shape who I am as an adult.
Today, I support a small selection of charities (including The Access Project) by donating to their work. One of those charities helps young people through the process of grieving for a deceased parent, family member or friend. Every time they send me something – an Impact Report, for example – it makes me cry. Donating to that charity is the best thing I can do with that money: it makes me far happier for far longer than, say, buying a new shirt. The charity is also excellent at what it does, so my donation really does help young people to live with their grief. I am proud of this.
The Access Project has been shown through a recent control group study to almost double a disadvantaged young person’s chances of getting to a top third university (55% vs. 33%) or to a Russell Group university (34% vs. 18%). “I am extremely glad that I joined The Access Project…Not only do I have an amazing tutor but The Access Project staff team have been such a great help too, and always go out of their way to help me” said Ellie about her experience of the programme since joining a couple of years ago.
This is a significant impact on young people’s lives – The Access Project helps young people to realise their potential and to transform their life prospects. I am very proud to work for the charity, and to donate to it. I think that you should be proud of your role too.
Ben Allcock, Fundraising Manager (ben@theaccessproject.org.uk)
Source: tap orig