Realising even more aspirations
We are delighted to announce that Inspire! have once more been contracted to manage Linklaters LLP’s Realising Aspirations programme as it enters a new three-year phase of delivery. The programme has been supporting Hackney students to fulfil their potential since 2007, and has reached tens of thousands of young people in the 9 years since its inception. Inspire! worked closely with Linklaters to design the original programme, providing expertise and local knowledge, and we have managed its delivery since its launch.
The goal of Realising Aspirations is to help local students achieve their ambitions. The award-winning programme brings together a number of charity partners – including Inspire! – to deliver a range of activities that enrich the curriculum and help young people prepare for adult life. It also fits into Linklaters’ wider corporate responsibility strategy of supporting its staff to volunteer and give back to the local community.
Our role is to oversee the delivery of Realising Aspirations in local schools, coordinating the charity partnership and delivering some of our own programmes under the Realising Aspirations umbrella. These include a range of work-related learning activities, alongside Challenge Me(ntoring) – formerly known as LAMP – a transition programme helping some of Hackney’s least confident Year 7 students settle into their new school environment.
Through Linklaters’ long-term engagement with their partner school in Hackney, Clapton Girls’ Academy, many students have benefited from the programme’s support throughout their education. Students there told us about the impact their ongoing connection with the firm has had on their aspirations and confidence: “I visit Linklaters very often – sometimes almost weekly!” said one. “It’s nice to see people in their working environment and it has inspired me to work somewhere like this.” Another told us that “coming to Linklaters is really nice and has opened a lot of doors. It sets you apart from others… I’ve learnt about different professions and have been given skills and confidence. At the beginning travelling to Linklaters alone was quite scary, but now I’m confident and do it all the time.”
Against a background of extremely rapid social change in Hackney, Linklaters has decided to focus some of its activity on a new borough, Haringey, for this cycle of the programme. Northumberland Park Community School has been chosen as Linklaters’ partner school in the borough, and their students will soon be able to enjoy the same opportunities for academic and personal development that the firm has offered to young people in Hackney for so long.
“We’re so pleased to be managing the programme for a further three years,” said Jonny Boux, Director of Inspire!. “Realising Aspirations has been so successful in Hackney, and we’re really looking forward to bringing the model to Haringey so it can reach even more local young people.”
You can read more about our role in the programme – and find out how we can help deliver your company’s CSR programme – here. Alternatively, call us on 020 7275 6060 or email info@inspire-ebp.org.uk to find out more about our expertise in corporate support.
