Our impact would not be possible without our partners. See the direct difference they made to our City Year Mentors, the pupils we support and to our organisation in 2021 to 2022
Offering opportunity
In 2021 to 2022, our partnerships and collaborations across the public, private and voluntary sectors enabled us to provide valuable new experiences for children furthest from opportunity and open doors for our inspirational young adults.
“I was nervous and unsure if this was for me, as a young person of colour it is difficult to be in places where you do not fit in but this taught me not to let my background or race determine my future. We need more of these to happen and I am grateful that I could go out of my comfort zone to attend.” – City Year Mentor
Partner engagement enabled the delivery of skills development and career exploration to all our young adults:
Mentoring
10 months of 1:1 mentoring with a ‘bridge builder’ from a professional background
Skills workshops
Ranging from public speaking and interview techniques to CV writing
Learning from Leaders
Speakers with insights from the public, private and voluntary sectors
My bridge builder mentor has prepared me for my journey into the world of work. Having monthly meetings has helped me improve my interpersonal skills and confidence. I have been able to ask plenty of questions about life during and after university, which I can definitely take into the future."
City Year Mentor 2021-22
Workplace visits
Industry Exploration Days to learn about career pathways
Networking
Virtual ‘speed networking’ breakfasts
An enterprise day
Including creating and pitching a business plan
Danaher Foundation
Our new partnership with the Danaher Foundation focuses on developing the employability skills of our young adults and gives Danaher’s associates the opportunity to offer meaningful career support.
Read more about our partnership
DHL UK Foundation
Working with City Year UK since 2016, over the past year 81 DHL staff members gave 420+ hours to support our leadership and development programme. The partnership enabled all our young adults to gain CMI accreditation in Leadership and Management.
Read more
City Year Mentors provide critical support to children across the country. Their efforts are needed now more than ever before, particularly in light of the challenges posed by COVID-19. They are the role models for the next generation."
Sonia Chhatwal Director of DHL UK Foundation
Partnering to offer meaningful employment
In 2021 to 2022, we were delighted to become a placement partner with ‘UK Year of Service’, offering paid work that pays back for 23 young adults as School Service Leaders (SSLs). Each SSL was employed to support a team of City Year Mentors and their own small focus list. They helped drive pupil achievement and built their team’s school partnership, alongside City Year UK’s staff programme team. One day a week, they took part in and supported Leadership Development training days.
See what Cory and Zhauni had to say about their experience as SSLs in this short film from UK Year of Service.
Pupils have missed out on too many extracurricular opportunities over the last two years, making the special enrichment activities our City Year Mentors ran in collaboration with our partners even more important.
Bringing STEM to life
Thanks to funding from the Cadent Foundation, we were able to launch ‘CASE Clubs’; bringing STEM subjects to life through after-school projects in London, Birmingham and Coventry. Every pupil who took part received a nationally recognised British Science Association CREST Award.
Friends had told us about it [CASE club]… I don’t normally like science but this was good!”
Pupil Partner school
A creative partnership
Since 2015, we’ve delivered a bespoke arts education programme leveraged through our partnership with Credit Suisse and The National Gallery. The eight-week programme, which includes in-school art sessions, as well as visits to, and a final exhibition at, the Gallery, is designed for Years 7 to 9. It is a chance for pupils to explore their creativity and develop their talents, while also offering further leadership development opportunities for our young adult mentors.
I love the art club, it’s very fun and I have learnt to do many things art wise. Also, the trips are very fun and I love all their art and the activities we get to do there.”
Pupil Partner school
London School of Economics Awards
In 2021 we were proud to be named LSE’s Voluntary Organisation of the Year and were even more delighted that Ed Unwin, who volunteered in our HR Department, was named LSE’s Volunteer of the Year.
Read how we partner with LSE to offer students flexible volunteer positions aimed at developing a consultancy level skill-set and more about Ed’s contribution to our organisation.
Read more
Award shortlist with Coventry University
Our partnership with Coventry University was shortlisted for the CSR Project of the Year in the Coventry Live Business Awards 2021.
Read more about our partnership here
Corporate partnership support in numbers 2021-2022
2600+ hours
of corporate volunteering given to support our young adults to prepare them for their next step after City Year
381 corporate volunteers
involved in helping to deliver our development programme via workshops and events
99 professionals
volunteered for 10 months as mentors; provided ongoing support, a sounding board and careers advice for our young adults
