Annual Awards
We set up our annual awards back in 2019 to celebrate the impact and acknowledge the effort our partners and mentors have made during the year in offering invaluable support, and fulfilling and sustainable employment to care-experienced young people across London.
For our 4th Partner Appreciation event, it was a tough decision when it came to deciding on a single winner. So, we didn’t. #PartnerAppreciation
Partner Winners
We are absolutely delighted to present The Crown Estate and Central and North West London (CNWL) NHS Trust with our Above & Beyond Awards for 2022!
Alison Maffey from CNWL (left) & Habtom, Callum Simpson & Judith Everett from The Crown Estate (right)
They join previous winners Baringa Partners, Lloyds Bank and Superdrug!
Mentor Winner
As for our marvellous mentor, we chose Anne Isaac, who has shown includible commitment supporting two young people throughout their journey.
Unfortunately, Anne wasn’t able to attend but we look forward to sending her award!
Proud to Share...
The event isn’t only a chance to show how grateful we are to our partners, mentors and supporters who work hard to break down barriers to employment, but also a chance for our young people to showcase their talents and share their experiences. We're grateful that this young artist shared one of his original songs with us. Find @kingxou on Instagram!
We’re proud to premiere our latest charity film. ‘Momentum Made by You’ shows the journeys of two young people who have joined Drive Forward to successfully navigate leaving care and transitioning into a career of their own choice.
Many thanks to The Media Trust, James Webber, and Margarida Gaspar for making this film possible.
Once in a Lifetime
The Crown Estate Goes Above & Beyond!
In 2022, The Crown Estate showed their commitment and passion for our mission through hosting events, arranging jobs fairs, and listening to care-experienced young people’s needs and aspirations.
In the summer, TCE organised a roundtable to consult with a group of young people and find out how they can make training and employment in their business more attractive and accessible for young people. As a result, they pulled together two exclusive events, showcasing the diversity of jobs and careers in the hospitality and retail sector.
We’ve all heard of careers’ fairs, but TCE hosted them with a difference: giving individuals the opportunity to interview on the day and leave with a job offer! We’re very excited that three of our young people were successful and are looking forward to starting their new jobs soon. Talk about accessible employment!
In November, The Crown Estate hosted our Partner Networking Breakfast, bringing together employers from across London to share their experience and learn about how to support care-experienced young people even further.
The icing on the cake: The Crown Estate worked with one of our Career Manager to create a highly specific three-month ring-fenced opportunity for a young person. After that, our young person’s proficiency and ambition were more than enough for TCE to offer them a full-time position as a Marine Programme Coordinator!
North West London (CNWL) NHS Trust Goes Above & Beyond!
We have been working with the Central and North West London (CNWL) NHS Trust over the last two years to make the NHS more accessible to care-experienced young people. In 2022, CNWL doubled the number of ring-fenced yearlong internship opportunities for young people working with Drive Forward.
As a Trust, CNWL work across Central and North West London to provide mental, community, and specialised services for people from birth to end-of-life care. Four young people have been taken on as Project Interns and will be responsible for different projects and supporting their teams to develop essential services for people with mental health conditions, autism, and learning disabilities.
Anton Babey, CEO
“Our partnership with CNWL combines our strengths, with a socially conscious employer offering quality career opportunities on one side, and a specialist organisation offering holistic support to our young people on the other. We're confident that together we can make a lasting impact not only on individual's lives but also across the sector."
With no strict entry criteria or qualifications needed, and an emphasis on personal development, continuous learning, and skills-building, these positions are truly accessible to our motivated young people. This year’s interns only started working with CNWL and we are excited to see how they get on over the next 12 months!
Claire Murdoch, CNWL Chief Executive
“Thanks very much to the wonderful Drive Forward Foundation, which we are very proud to be a partner of. Young care leavers are such an asset. Imagine if all NHS organisations had just two care-leaver year-long placements every year! This year CNWL doubled the number of internships offered. They were so brilliant that they secured permanent jobs in the Trust within 6 months. Their placement teams were bereft to lose them so quickly but you can’t keep down talent. Let’s do more.”
Mentoring – it’s more than just volunteering
Anne is a retired teacher who wanted to do something fulfilling with her free time. She decided to use her wealth of experience and joined our mentoring programme. Anne currently supports two of our care-experienced young people (mentees) with written English and also goes out of her way to support wider activities like event for young people on the Aspire programme.
Every Day is a School Day!
Anne's patience, listening skills and empathy coupled with her ability to support mentees with their written English has made a tangible difference to the young people she supports. Who doesn’t want a teacher helping them out with their college work?
Power of Community
As with each Partner Appreciation evening, it was a wonderful reminder of the power of the community we have in helping care-experienced young people. Thank you to all who attended and supported us this year, and congratulations again to our Above & Beyond winners. We can’t wait to see what happens in 2023.
