2017 Queen’s Award Winner
Reach Society is honoured and delighted to receive the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service (which is the MBE for volunteer groups). Everyone on the Society’s management team is proud of the recognition this national award has bestowed on the Society for its work with young people.
Dr Dwain Neil, Chairman of the Society said: “I am delighted the Society won this national award because it represents a pat on the back for everyone involved in the project, and it is a spur for the team to continue making a difference. The Society has had an extraordinary 7 years, and this national recognition is just what the team needs.”
Reach Society is a social enterprise which was founded in October 2010 by three professional men – Rob Neil, Professor Donald Palmer and Dr Dwain Neil – to inspire young people by showcasing professionals in the Black community to them.
In 7 years the Society has impacted more than 9500 young people helping them to reframe their ideas of pathways to success. The Society has involved dozens of employers and scores of professionals in its interactive programmes which are designed to inspire young people from age 9 to 24.
The Society’s annual careers conference attracts roughly 1,000 participants, young people and some parents. In this event attendees gain information and advice in the perfect 10 workshops, discover pathways to success from many professionals in the Black community, and access to dozens of employers offering a wide range of opportunities.
Each careers event also provides contact with a panel of Black scientists who are experts in mathematics, biology, chemistry, physics, engineering and medicine; and they help the young people to understand the career advantages bestowed by these STEMM subjects.
The Society’s annual outreach programme is defined by bespoke employability and careers days which are rolled out in schools, colleges and community groups. And its monthly networking conversations help to build amity between Black professional men; and many of them become trained ambassadors who spearhead the inspirational programme.
Social mobility matters to the Society. The first recipient of a full scholarship, the UCFB Reach Society scholarship, is expected to graduate in 2018. The Grace Foods and Reach Society scholarship is the latest social mobility offer designed to help a young Black man access Brunel University London, from September 2017. Reach Society’s policy is to evolve its model of social enterprise for the benefit of a growing number of young people each year.
To mark this national honour a team from Reach Society attended the Queen’s Garden Party at Buckingham Palace on 1st June.
Click on this link to see photos of this visit.
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