The Hargreaves Foundation supports Ablaze

The Trustees of The Hargreaves Foundation are pleased to announce that funding has been granted to Ablaze, a charity with a mission to address inequality of opportunity for young, under-served, under-estimated, and disengaged people in the West of England.

Ablaze’s Reading and Number Partners are volunteers from local businesses who commit to supporting a child from twelve weeks to an academic year. By harnessing the skills and knowledge of business volunteers, Ablaze provides a vital bridge between businesses and young people, facilitating meaningful connections and opportunities. Consistent support over an extended period helps young people to not only improve their reading and number skills but also foster vital positivity about books and problem solving which in turn increases engagement at school.

Their Career Mentoring Programme for 10-16-year-olds offers group mentoring with trained volunteers from local businesses, conducted over a minimum of six sessions at the workplace. Mentors share knowledge of workplace skills, employability opportunities, and career pathways, which widen students’ ideas of what’s possible for themselves. For many, this will be their first experience of stepping into a real workplace.

Ablaze has 6 schools that have shown interest for providing Ablaze programmes, and with funding in place, they aim to deliver a one-year programme to each dependent on the programme required. This project can give 90 students aged 6-14 the invaluable opportunity to work with one of, at least, 35 volunteers from businesses trained to mentor and deliver the programmes.