The LoveLocalJobs Foundation C.I.C are delighted to have partnered with Kreston Reeves, accountants, business and financial advisers, who have supported the Dare to Dream programme to support young people across Brighton from the Dorothy Stringer School since April 2021.
The business volunteers and mentors from Kreston Reeves have helped to give young people the confidence they need to fulfil their potential. Alongside local radio presenter, Jack ‘the Lad’ Hayes, they have covered themes such as self-awareness, mindset, gratitude, resilience, teamwork and employability, and have used their own experience and knowledge to motivate the young people.
Jake Standing, Partner at Kreston Reeves, comments: “It has been an absolute pleasure to support LoveLocalJobs and all the young people we have spoken with as part of the Dare to Dream programme.
“Our sole purpose as a firm is to guide you to a brighter future. The you in that sentence being our clients, our colleagues and our communities. It’s incredibly important to us to really live by that purpose and give back to our communities wherever we can so we were really excited to get involved with this programme to help guide young people on their journeys”.
Katy Long, Audit and Assurance Manager at Kreston Reeves and mentor for this programme, commented: “It’s been really lovely hearing young people speak about what they enjoy, their career and future ambitions. It puts things into perspective too.
“I remember being that age and it is daunting knowing which way to turn when you are presented with so many paths and options. Even at college I didn’t know the direction I wanted to take and ended up falling into my trainee role at Kreston Reeves because of my accountancy A level teacher.
“Just being able to speak to someone about what happens if things don’t go to plan (grades, course or path selection etc) and if you’ll be okay can be an invaluable support that I wish was more readily available when I was at school. It was a pleasure to share our experiences, provide honest, practical advice and guidance and reinforce the message that there is so much opportunity out there”.
Adam Knott, Head of Year 9 at Dorothy Stringer School commented: “Dare to Dream has been a great programme for our students. They all really enjoyed the inspirational talks with Jack ‘the lad’, who made the sessions informative but also funny and engaging. The students who participated in mentoring sessions with local business volunteers found the interactions enjoyable, insightful and valued talking to someone from a leading local employer Kreston Reeves about the world of work.”
Christina Fishlock, Head of Community Programmes at LoveLocalJobs, commented: “I would like to thank everyone at Kreston Reeves for their support in making the programme happen. The schools are experiencing a particularly tricky time so we are delighted that we have been able to inspire the students during this time”.
Local schools involved in the programme from Brighton include:
Cardinal Newman Catholic School, Kings School Hove, Longhill High School, Patcham High School, Portslade Aldridge Community Academy and Dorothy Stringer School.