A number of our colleagues are helping year 9 students across three Sussex-based schools raise their aspirations and improve their self-confidence through the Dare to Dream programme.
The programme, run by the Love Local Jobs Foundation, is designed around developing essential life skills, boosting self-belief and helping young people achieve their full potential.
As part of this, 15 employees from First Central are acting as mentors to 45 students to inspire them, both personally and professionally.
Commenting on why we’re supporting the Dare to Dream programme this academic year, our Chief People Officer, Jo McGowan, said: “Community is at the heart of First Central – we firmly believe that our communities should benefit from our presence, so supporting local charities and initiatives is of paramount importance to us.
“Dare to Dream is one such initiative we feel privileged to be involved with. This ground-breaking programme enables us to share our knowledge and experiences with students, helping them to grow in confidence and resilience, and to develop their ambitions for the future.”
The core themes of the Dare to Dream programme centre on self-awareness, resilience, mindset, gratitude, teamwork and employability, which our mentors are instrumental in supporting.
It’s being delivered to over 650 students from Oathall Community College, St Wilfrid’s Catholic School and Warden Park Academy throughout the 2021/22 academic year.
Working with the students across each school, our mentors are helping them realise their full potential through sharing their own experiences and offering them one-to-one guidance and advice.
David Jenkins, Learning & Development Trainer, is one of the mentors. He explains: “It’s amazing to be involved in such a positive initiative, helping to promote change and getting the students to think outside of the box. I really took great heart from being able to help the students see their strengths, especially those who struggled with self-belief during an uncertain time of their lives.
“It’s a really rewarding programme which I would wholeheartedly recommend to everyone.”