One participant from the 2024-25 Envision class said, “Envision helps you to think about things we normally would ignore. It helps us to look past boundaries and helps us to achieve our goals and develop skills we don’t usually acknowledge along the way.” (Courtesy photo)
Envision empowers young people from under-resourced communities to develop the essential skills and confidence proven to support their education, employment and well-being. Through a combination of in-school sessions and structured mentoring from volunteers at corporate partner organizations, young people design and deliver their own social action projects, building the skills of communication, creativity, determination and teamwork in the process.
A grant from the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation (IICF) has supported our wider program, enabling 120 young people from ten London secondary schools to take part in Envision’s program in spring 2025. Working with mentors from local partner businesses, young people developed and led their own community projects while strengthening their essential skills. Some standout projects included:
- Team Hungry Hatcham, who created a display directing other students to the nearest local food banks, aiming to reduce stigma around food banks and supporting families through the cost-of-living crisis.
- Team Mentality Strikers, who displayed posters of positive affirmations and quotes around their school to reduce stress and support student well-being.
- Team Forest Hill Knife Strikers, who identified knife crime as an issue facing their community and brought in an external speaker to deliver an impactful talk at their school.
Across the 12-week Secondary program, young people made measurable progress:
- 99% improved in at least one essential skill
- 90% reported greater confidence
- 92% felt they had developed skills for the future
Additionally, The Hartford joined forces with Envision this year to support their Post-16 program in London, where 17 young people took part in a 20-week program to drive positive change in their college community. Guided by trained Envision staff and volunteer mentors from The Hartford, they developed and delivered a project aimed at supporting new students arriving in the UK by making British culture more accessible and easier to understand.
The Hartford’s mentors collectively contributed 76 hours of volunteer time, offering guidance, encouragement and real-world perspective. Our end of program survey results reflected the depth of the mentors’ impact, with 100% of the young people supported by The Hartford saying that taking part in the program had improved their confidence. This partnership demonstrates the tangible impact corporate volunteers can have in building young people’s skills and confidence.
Coming together at the Envision final event, where they presented about the impact of their projects, celebrated their achievements and competed for the coveted Envision trophy, young people shared some insightful reflections. One participant from the 2024-25 class said, “Envision helps you to think about things we normally would ignore. It helps us to look past boundaries and helps us to achieve our goals and develop skills we don’t usually acknowledge along the way.”
With support from IICF and fellow dedicated corporate partners, Envision continues to build a society where a young person’s background does not determine their future. This mission is at the heart of all we do, to empower young people from less-advantaged backgrounds, who are often underrepresented in the workforce, to develop their essential skills and the confidence proven to support their education, employment and well-being.
As we enter IICF’s Month of Giving, please consider how valuable your support is to organizations such as ours. For additional information about Envision, please visit https://envision.org.uk/.
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