An update on Reach Out 2 Kids
We at ROK are incredibly proud of the impact we have had on the lives of the children and young people we have supported over the last 13 years.
Through our work with schools, colleges, universities and our corporate partners, we have helped to transform the lives of thousands of young students from diverse communities, connecting them with career opportunities that they may not otherwise have been able to access.
Like many charities, however, ROK has found the funding landscape increasingly challenging over the past year, and unfortunately, our current financial situation is unsustainable in the long term.
It is for this reason that the Board of Trustees have taken the decision to pause all ROK’s operations for a period of six to nine months. We will use this period to focus entirely on fundraising activity, with the support of specialists who have been engaged specifically to support us to seek and obtain funding from a range of diverse sources.
It is with deep regret that as a result of our current lack of funding, ROK founder and CEO Denise Stephenson has offered her resignation, which the Trustees have sadly had to accept. Denise said: “Whilst this is a sad and difficult picture, we have to reflect on the positives: all that we have achieved and the impacts we have made for children and young people so far. That is not only for us to reflect on as a charity, but also our partners who have provided such fantastic support to help us do what we do.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank my incredible ROK family: the Trustees, Ambassadors and volunteers, as well as the wonderful friends of ROK – our schools and corporate partners – who have made the past 13 years possible. I am hopeful that this will continue in the future and that together, we can continue to work to impact and change lives, the face of the workplace and the experiences of those children and young people from racially diverse and lower income backgrounds for the betterment of all.”
We have been in touch directly with our partners and will continue to keep them updated on our fundraising progress over this period.
We would be happy to speak to any individuals or organisations who are in a position to support ROK with contributions towards our long-term sustainability during this focused fundraising period. If this would be of interest, please contact Edward Flood, Chairman of Board of Trustees, at edward.flood@ro2k.co.uk.
At ROK, our motto is ‘Believe, Achieve, Succeed’, and it is our belief that the decision we have taken, while difficult, will help ensure that ROK is able to remain operational, and continue our vital work supporting children and young people to achieve their career aspirations, long into the future.
The ROK Board of Trustees
Reach Out 2 Kids
Supporting young people from diverse and low-income backgrounds, helping them to Believe in themselves, Achieve despite the odds and Succeed in their career goals and aspirations.
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Founded in 2011, ROK (Reach Out 2 Kids) is a small London-based charity, made up of black and minority ethnic professionals.
We work with schools and businesses to motivate support and give practical guidance to 11-18 year-olds in secondary education to help them achieve their career goals.
Most of our volunteers, from trustees to mentors to ROK Ambassadors, are from lower income backgrounds and have lived experiences of the issues that the young people we work with are facing.
Get in touch to learn more about ROK and how our work can benefit you.
Work with ROK
How we ROK
We understand that young people from lower income backgrounds and/or diverse communities often do not have access to professionals and business people.
This, alongside limited funding for careers support in schools and sixth form colleges means that young people often do not have adequate guidance or encouragement to help them with their career choices.
We aim to address this by opening up the world of work, potential and opportunity to such young people.
We do this in two key ways:
ROK Careers Programme
This programme includes presentations at schools, colleges and universities, where professionals share their stories of how they have succeeded their career aspirations.
We also run careers workshops, giving an invaluable insight into a range of careers - from media to finance to science to law - as well as CV and interview workshops.
Our ROK industry days also give us the opportunity to take students into the work environment itself. Previous events have included trips to Ford, Google and Universal Music.
ROK Solid Mentoring Programme
This careers-based programme helps students to understand how important their education, experiences and skills are to their future lives and to succeeding in industry and the business world.
The programme helps students to explore the concepts of success, independence and employment and shows the importance of CV and interviewing techniques alongside other practical skills such as identifying and finding jobs.
It typically runs for at least a year, but the schools we work with often choose to extend this.
“I was delighted to have the opportunity to play a part once again in the ROK Legal London Tour. The students prepared admirably well for the mock-trial of the family court hearing; the advocacy was impressive, and plainly much thought had been given to the difficult issues involved. I was pleased to have the chance to answer the students’ interesting questions. ROK are doing great things to introduce young people to a wide range of opportunities. It has been a pleasure and privilege to contribute to this impressive endeavour, by offering them some insights into a family court, and a life in the legal profession.”
Feedback from Mr Justice Cobb (High Court Judge), following Legal London Tour - 2018
