On Thursday 18th February Future Foundations’ alumni, staff, students, partners and funders came together at Stratford Circus for our third annual Celebration and Awards. The event, which was held at Stratford Circus in London was an incredible opportunity for us to unite the people that enable Future Foundation’s vision for society to come to life.
We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who attended this year’s event to recognise and celebrate our collective achievements and contribution during 2015. We are especially grateful to the undisputed stars of the show, the succession of inspirational young people who took to the stage to share their Future Foundations journey with us all. It was with great pride and admiration that we watched participants of our many school programmes, Global Social Leaders, McKinsey Leadership Academy and National Citizen Service step up to the mic and demonstrate Future Foundations principles in action.
Congratulations to every Award winner, nominee and audience member for being part of a truly special night and for making 2015 a year to remember. We look forward to the successes this year will bring and to enjoying the journey with you all!
AWARDS CATEGORIES AND CRITERIA
Please click on the plus signs to read about the awards and nominations in more detail.
Staff Member of the Year
Staff member of the year
Future Foundations recognises the important contribution our incredible members of staff make on FF programmes. This award goes to the member of staff who lives the FF principles and has shown commitment and enthusiasm throughout the year.
Our shortlisted nominations were as follows:
- Fran Davenport National Citizen Service
- Andy Dunn Global Social Leaders
- Sarah Militello Chrysalis Summer School
- Oliver Williams Global Social Leaders
Partner Special Recognition
Partner of the Year Award
Future Foundations could not deliver the scale and scope of our programmes without the incredible partners we work with. We believe in the importance of collaboration and playing to organisation strengths, and through this collaboration we can create a more sustainable society.
This award recognises the partner organisations that have helped Future Foundations to make a significant impact on young people’s lives, worked closely in partnership on one or more programmes and have shared our passion for helping every young person achieve their full potential.
- King’s College School, ISSP – Year 11 Aspirations Day
- Wembley High Technology College – Year 8 Higher Education Experience
- Luton Sixth Form College – Year 12 Bright Futures
- Wellington College – Global Social Leaders
- Highgate School – Year 10 and 12 Chrysalis Summer School and Accelerator
UK Social Leader of the Year Award
UK Social Leader of the Year
This award goes has been created to recognise our alumni who have continued their social action since graduating from a Future Foundations programme.
The nominees were judged against 3 criteria:
- Their impact on the community and others
- Their learning/knowledge and skills gained
- Special recognition: Creating a sustainable project and involving other people and organisations
GSL Impact Award
Global Social Leader Impact Award
Future Foundations and the Wellington Leadership Institute are committed to supporting and celebrating young people who are working on innovative social action projects across the globe. We invited graduates of the 2015 Global Social Leaders programme to apply for the Global Social Leaders Impact Awards.
They were judged on:
- Their measurable impact to date on the community
- Their personal growth: learning/knowledge and skills gained so far
- Creating a sustainable project
- Involving other people and/organisations
Volunteer of the Year
Volunteer of the Year
This award goes to one of our volunteers whose actions completely embody the values of Future Foundations and has contributed their time tirelessly to help us achieve our mission.
All of the nominees have contributed to the team effort, and their commitment and hard work on the programmes has been invaluable
Our shortlisted nominations are as follows:
- Helen Knox, McKinsey Leadership Academy
- Edward Caffyn Parsons, Global Social Leaders
- Philip Hutchinson, McKinsey Leadership Academy
Special Recognition Award
This award will recognise a person who has contributed above and beyond what is expected to living the FF Principles over a sustained period of time and over a range of different projects.
Student of the Year
Student of the Student of the year
Future Foundations get to work with some amazing individuals throughout the year, and this award is to recognise just one person who has stood out for their achievements. The student of the year is someone who has lived the FF Principles and made a tangible difference to themselves and others.
All of the nominees have proven themselves to be dedicated, motivated and inspiring people who are great ambassadors for others
Our shortlisted nominations were as follows:
- Natalie Vernon – National Citizen Service
- Aimee Wilkinson – Global Social Leaders
- Desree Adeola – Chrysalis Summer School
- Elizabeth Huang – McKinsey Leadership Academy
- Jack Bonnington – National Citizen Service
WINNERS
Staff Member of the Year – Andy Dunn
“He is one of the most dedicated and hardworking coaches and course directors I have had the pleasure of working with. He is incredibly conscientious and always thinks of the bigger aims of the programme. He is able to draw the very best out of those around him and is also striving to develop his own skills and knowledge of leadership and social action. In 2015 he worked on more than 6 FF programmes in roles from a coach to a course director.”
Partner Special Recognition- Luton Sixth Form College
The award goes to one of our newest and brightest partners, an organisation which approached us in 2015 to create an unforgettable experience to challenge and inspire their high achieving Sixth Formers and help them to lead their own success. Their teacher’s relentless drive, enthusiasm and commitment to this programme was infectious and enabled us to make this one of the most successful training events of last year. All this despite an incredibly short turn around and a heavy dose of emergency pizza. We look forward to a very Bright Future with our winning partner!
UK Social Leader of the Year Award- Aadil Khan and Sahil Handa
Our winner this year is not just one person, but an incredible dynamic duo!
Aadil Khan from Haberdashers’ Aske’s Boys’ School and Sahil Handa from Queen Elizabeth’s School were unanimously selected for this award. They had both attended the McKinsey Leadership Academy and had initiated a The Youth Action project. Their project has had so much reach and impact since they participated in our programme, involving other people and partners, stayed true to their project principles, which has been carried out completely by young people and has created a sustainable legacy.
Their project is truly inspiring and now operating internationally!
GSL Impact Award- Yuchen Xu, Keyi Guo and Haipei Chen
Our winner is a team of our GSL alumni from our partner school in China, High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China. This means they were unable to join us for the Awards Ceremony.
They developed a public platform about Chinese characters and culture on WeChat to draw attention to the beautiful characters and the colourful culture China possesses.
They decided to launch the platform as they felt attention and understanding of Chinese characters and culture has been declining in contemporary Chinese society.
Volunteer of the Year- Philip Hutchinson
Philip who attended Nunthorpe school, participated in the McKinsey Leadership Academy in 2013 and then volunteered in 2015, helping our facilitators make the programme a success
“He was the first to volunteer himself when a task needed completing and the last person to leave at the end of the day. He always did everything with a smile. He has a real affiliative leadership style and it was a delight to work with him.”
Since the programme Phillip has also volunteered to represent Future Foundations at the Conservative Conference fringe event organised by Generation Change.
Student of the Year- Aimee Wilkinson
Aimee Wilkinson from Kendrick School in Reading attended Global Social Leaders in as a DfE Character Award bursary winner in August 2015. She was an extremely engaged and active participant on the GSL 2015 programme. Her confidence and self-belief developed enormously and she has gone on to put this into action by representing herself, her school, FF and GSL at assemblies and events following the summer. She has shown she will step out of her comfort zone to share her GSL story and her passion and enthusiasm for the programme is infectious. She is a wonderful ambassador and epitomizes the aims of GSL to develop socially active young leaders who are able to lead themselves and those around them.
CELEBRATING OUR COLLECTIVE IMPACT
Future Foundations – the story so far…
Future Foundations was founded in 2004 with a mission to support young people to aim high and reach their full potential. The last ten years has seen the organisation grow its team, network of facilitators and our impact on our young people and society. We started with a focus on how to support graduates into the world of work, and soon realised that we could have a greater impact if we worked with young people at an earlier age.
Our first major project was winning a bid to design and deliver Vodafone’s Take A Chance programme. Highlights over the past 10 years have been running our flagship summer schools in partnership with leading independent schools, being selected by NESTA to create a new model of work related learning, running the Labour government’s Leadership residential for young people from 10 parts of England, delivering NCS in 9 cities, and launching our first global project in 2013.
We could not have done all of this without the passion and determination of our people, who are what set apart Future Foundations. Every member of staff believes in the power of people, and in the importance of creating a safe space to explore who you are and where you want to go. Together we have created transformational leadership opportunities for 1000’s of young people. Since then, as an organisation, we have been on as big a journey as the young people on our programmes.
This will be our third Annual Celebration and Awards recgonising our collective achievements and contribution during 2015. Click here to read out Top 10 Achievements of 2015!
What’s your Future Foundations story?
Have you been on programme with us as a staff member, student or client? Have you had a memorable experience that you would like to share? We would still love to hear from you! Please click on the button to tell us your FF story.
YOUR FF STORIES
Raheem – Alumni
Following my attendance at the McKinsey Leadership Academy, we pledged to complete a management project in time for our reunion the following year.
Being caught up in an academic time of my life, I neglected my passion for music, so I sought the opportunity to undergo a project in which my final aim was to have some of my music licensed on the iTunes store.
My ambition is not to score a number one hit, or even a top 40, but in the process of my project I have managed to get back in touch with old friends, including my old “Partner in Rhyme” who moved abroad, and together we are moving forward in fulfilling what can be described as a childhood dream.I have been on quite a journey with FF since doing my first NCS project two summers ago. My first Future Foundations experience was at Bassingbourne – an old army base, where we camped for a week. My work with Future Foundations has taken me from that tent, to jumping into the sea, to fundraising outside Reading Festival by face-painting and hair-chalking: all in the name of social action!
I have also been into lots of different schools and colleges and had the opportunity to work with some truly inspirational young people. I believe that Future Foundations helps to shape the leaders of the future, equipping young people with skills they do not learn in school. I have said before that I wish I could have done NCS myself when I was 16, I would have learnt so much, but now, I have learnt so much about being a leader from FF and it is great to think that maybe I have inspired some young people along the way.Making someone realise that they have all the tools they need to go to university, or that they can have a positive impact upon their community, or that they can get up and speak in front of hundreds of people, those things make every late night and long coach trip worth it.
Elhaam – Alumni
The terms ‘leadership role’ or ‘ice breaker’ were like poised knives teasing the thread my stomach was hanging on and so I naturally dreaded and tried to avoid anything that even started to sound like it. When the word about the Future Foundation’s opportunity of mentoring Year 9’s went around, I was a little curious and so decided to sign up and attend the first introductory session at my college.
It was nerve wracking. I sat trapped in a chair surrounded by a group of people I’ve only seen from afar, right next to me. I could just about get my name out when it came to the introductions. I thought I was inadequate for this role to be honest and how can someone like me possibly take on such a huge role like this. But of course, I wasn’t alone. My anxiety died down a little and I felt slightly better because over the holidays there was a session covering what we were going to be delivering to the teenagers at the secondary school.
As the sessions went by I grew more confident and realised that no one knew me so I could be confident for their sake at least. I thought it went really well; it was amazing to meet so many new characters and hear about their future aspirations and it made me think how lost I was at their age and how lucky they are to be getting this opportunity to discover and develop themselves before they go to college.
Taking part in this project was my first step outside my comfort zone. I’m glad I did because I developed my own confidence whilst helping others develop theirs and it has taught me not to shy away from anything outside my comfort zone.
Heather – Volunteer
I did my first Future Foundations summer school in 2010 as a Year 11 student. I was very shy and anxious and I was really unsure about taking part but it was an amazing 3 days and I needn’t have worried. Jon and the other Future Foundations team members were lovely and helpful and the activities were fun and engaging.
I gained so much confidence from those 3 days and from doing the presentation of what I learnt at the end that in 2011 I did another Future Foundations summer school, this time as a volunteer. On the first day I helped with the Year 11 workshops and I even gave a talk introducing myself and the programme at the beginning!
Over the next 2 days I participated in workshops aimed at my age group and I enjoyed it just as much as I had the year before, I was sad to leave! These workshops are brilliant and really engaging; you learn a lot and gain a lot of skills whilst still having a really fun time. I would recommend them to anyone and I am really thankful to Future Foundations for helping me to gain some more confidence!
Chioma – Alumni
A lifelong learning opportunity is hard to find, but with the Chrysalis Summer School I found that opportunity. I met people that were inspiring and extremely talented. I acquired confidence, knowledge and most of all support from people who want the best for you, people that want to help you be the best you can possibly be. I had the chance to hear life stories about university from student ambassadors, the coordinator Mary, tutors and lessons learnt from it.
My Spanish tutor was very supportive and really cool. She taught us about Spanish Literature and the importance of speaking Spanish on a day to day basis to gradually become better even if you stumble. I met charismatic students, with creativity and most importantly vision. They knew what they wanted to do, where they wanted to go next and it’s their confidence that motivates me to try harder, to dream bigger.
On a lighter note, one of my best moments was the final subject presentations. I found that even the subjects regarded as mundane by some turned out to be the funniest one’s showcasing talent and personality. Those that took part in the Chrysalis Programme may remember Charlie’s and Songyan’s speeches which were amazing! It was undeniably, one of the best experiences of my life so far.
I wish I could do it all over again.