On Sunday 26th September, we will be running the Hackney Half Marathon in order to fundraise for ThinkForward. Our hope is that our fundraising will help young people get to where they want to be and to have a brighter future. 

ThinkForward is a charity which ensures that young people most at risk of long-term unemployment receive the support they need to transition successfully from school to further education or sustained employment. Over five years from age 13 to 18, highly skilled coaches build a relationship of trust with young people, enabling them to break down the barriers holding them back from achieving their potential and equipping them with the skills and experience they need to move into work after they finish school. 

We recently attended a virtual ThinkForward in Action event to hear directly from some of the students that have received one to one support and coaching from the charity and were really touched by their stories and the clear growth in their confidence and drive as a result of the support provided by the charity. The Covid pandemic has exacerbated the disadvantages that many of the young people face but we could see for ourselves what a huge impact that consistent and trusted support provided by the coaches have had on these students in terms of changing and focusing the direction of their future lives. 

FutureMe is one of the programmes run by ThinkForward in collaboration with its employer partners to give students opportunities to connect with and experience the world of work.

“I started the programme when I was in Year 9 and at the time I didn’t give a damn about school. I cared more about my looks than my personality and my career. Then I met Donna. I’ve had a really bad past through things at home. I didn’t really have a role model and that’s why I didn’t really care about anything. I started to like FutureMe when I had a one-to-one session with Donna and I’m glad that I stayed on the programme because I’m now studying in sixth form and if it wasn’t for FutureMe I would have no GCSEs and I wouldn’t have a part-time job.”  Connie

“Before FutureMe I didn’t always come to school. There were things that were happening that made me feel left out at school. My mental health wasn’t good and I felt suicidal at times but that changed when I started coming to ThinkForward and talking to my coach. One-to-one coaching is my favourite part of the programme because it gives me a chance to focus on myself, and it’s more personal and it allows me to reflect on my actions and think about what I want to do in the future. Before, I was completely lost, but FutureMe is all about my future so I get to analyse what I want to do. I want to be a radiographer and I will need to go to university to do that.”  Erica