Who the Trust Helps
The Trust’s seven trustees ensure that income is used to support education, transport and logistics, City institutions and the relief of hardship among Carmen and their dependants. “Education” includes scholarships for disadvantaged students as well as support for state schools and colleges (chiefly in London) to help them ensure their work is truly inclusive.
Carmen’s support of education includes the following:
Supporting State Schools
In recent years, the Benevolent Trust has altered the emphasis of its work to assist education, and now sees helping state schools as a priority. The Covid pandemic demonstrated how fragile many state resources are, and left schools unable to develop their students in ways that will benefit them and their place in society.
The Trust was one of the first charities to help London schools obtain IT equipment for which funding was not otherwise available. It was possible to extend this funding to convert a room at Aldgate School – the only state school in the City of London – into a Speech and Language Room. Here students (including many for whom English is not their first language) gain skills in English and thus build confidence. This project was made possible by a single most generous donation from a Carman’s relative.
Supporting Initiatives
Supporting initiatives which help secure a future for young people.
Supporting Disadvantaged Students
The Trust’s education work is increasingly geared towards initiatives within state schools, helping them provide their students with life skills and fit them for a world of work. There are, however, some whose domestic circumstances or particular challenges mean that they are considered to be disadvantaged, and in a few cases the Trust is able to arrange for them to attend City of London-supported schools which will help them reach their potential. This is sometimes a long road and involves long-term commitment from the Trust on behalf of students concerned.
The Trust supports students at four such schools – Christ’s Hospital (West Sussex), King Edward’s School Witley (Surrey), City of London Freemen’s School (Surrey) and St Paul’s Cathedral School (in the City of London). The Carmen’s Honorary Schools Liaison Officer maintains regular contact with the schools and, just as importantly, the students. Additional help is sometimes given where the student has further needs, which may not have been evident on placement.
Opening Up Education
Your Trust supports a number of community initiatives aimed at opening up education and helping provide opportunities to gain useful employment, providing funding which helps the initiatives plan their work from year-to-year.
Spear Clapham Junction works with unemployed young people facing different challenges and barriers getting into work or education. Spear offers a free six-week employment training programme which addresses the issues that often stop young people succeeding in the workplace. These include attitude and motivation, life skills for the workplace, job search skills and interview skills. Young people come to Spear from local job centres, housing associations and community organizations. With 75% of graduates in work or training a year later, the Spear course is highly commended for its effectiveness and cost-efficiency.
Click here for more information about Spear.
Universify Education is an education charity committed to tackling educational inequality. It seeks that universities be open to anyone with academic potential regardless of background. The Universify Education year-long programme helps equip Year 11 students from non-selective state schools with the grades, aspirations and knowledge to successfully apply to high-selective universities. Universify Education wants its participants to achieve their potential in education by making informed decisions about their futures.
Click here for more information about Universify.
Help for Ukrainians in the UK
The Trust has established links with two London schools which provide emotional, educational and cultural support to refugees from Ukraine who have come to the UK to escape the war in their own country.
These schools are in Barnet and Thornton Heath and each provides a useful resource for students of all ages to help them assimilate into British society while retaining their own culture; rebuilding their confidence and relationships; and becoming more proficient in spoken and written English.
Supporting Treloar’s
The Treloar School and College for Disabled Young People is in Alton, Hampshire. It was founded by a former Lord Mayor of London and provides both residential and day facilities for young people with a range of profound disabilities to attain valuable educational results.
The Trust has supported Treloar’s for many years, tailoring its help each year to specific projects nominated by the school. In recent years, the Trust has paid for high-spec interactive electronic equipment which allows students to use technology despite physical limitations; a hoist which allows children to safely enter and leave the swimming pool; and a trike for those with profound mobility problems.
How You Can Help
Your Trust’s support of education, our industries and the relief of hardship can only happen with the support of Carmen themselves. By far the best way to offer this support is through a regular standing order. These ensure that we can meet our regular commitments but we also welcome one-off donations, of course.
This is where you come in…
