Who we help

The DHL UK Foundation is a UK registered charity that believes all children and young people should be supported to reach their potential and grow into the best person they can be.

As part of our vision to end youth unemployment, the DHL UK Foundation supports like-minded charity partners across the UK through its strategic grant making scheme.

Last year we engaged over 750 colleagues, delivered over 200 GoTeach activities and directly reached over 5,500 students through these engagement opportunities. We have committed to funding plans with our long standing charity partners to help us and them reach more young people in need.

Charity Partners

Teach First believe education is the most powerful tool to help a child fulfil their potential. They train talented teachers and equip school leaders working in some of the poorest areas of the country. Since 2003, they have placed more than 16,000 teachers in low-income areas, improving the life chances of over 2 million pupils. Their teachers are 12 times more likely to progress to senior leadership roles early in their career than those who train through higher education institute routes.

Teach First is the UK affiliate of Teach for All and the partnership in the UK aligns with Deutsche Post DHL’s global GoTeach programme. The DHL UK Foundation has been working in partnership with Teach First since 2015, supporting over 14,000 pupils through GoTeach across 57 partner schools.

Colleagues have supported with the following activities;

  • Delivering inspiring career talks
  • Developing employability skills
  • Hosting students on site visits
  • Coaching teachers

Click here to read more about our incredible partnership:  DHL-UK-Foundation-Teach-First-celebration-report-2015-23.pdf (dhlukfoundation.org)

Street League help young people build the essential skills they need to achieve their potential. In school, in life, and in work.

They use the power of sport to help young people, aged 14 to 30, who face personal barriers to employment to improve their wellbeing, secure employment and have a brighter future.  They are working with schools, communities, and employers to equip young people with the confidence, motivation, essential skills and qualifications needed to succeed in the world of work

Working throughout the UK, they are supporting young people to own their future from Dundee to London with skills development, qualifications and wellbeing at the core of the services offered acting as the ‘building blocks’ for each young person to build a brighter future.

Our partnership with Street League provides grant funding to support their core work.  In addition to this we have supported through GoTeach with DHL colleagues taking part in sport sessions, essential skills sessions in the classroom and showcasing the world of work though site visits.

DHL colleagues have supported with the following activities;

  • Sport sessions to support skill development
  • Supporting young who we help with CV & Interview skills
  • Hosting young who we help on site visits

The Outward Bound Trust is an educational charity; who provide wild adventures and inspire young people to believe they can achieve more than they ever thought possible! Their funding helps break down barriers and unlock opportunities for those who need it most.

The DHL UK Foundation have partnered with The Outward Bound Trust for over 15 years, making a lasting impact on the lives of disadvantaged young people local to DHL sites across England and Scotland.

Year 10 students from partner schools are introduced to the world of the work and the skills required therein, the 5 day residential supports these students to build resilience, confidence and to raise their aspirations. Students taking part in the programme are provided with additional activities in school to support their learning and raise their aspirations.

Colleagues have supported with the following activities;

  • Running assessment centres
  • Attending a 5-day residential in Wales or Scotland
  • Delivering an inspiring classroom / virtual career talk
  • Supporting students with CV & Interview skills
  • Development of employability skills
  • Hosting students on site visits

City Year is a UK-based youth social action charity that aims to tackle educational inequality in schools. 18-25 year old volunteers give a year of service at a school serving a disadvantaged community, helping students to achieve their potential. City Year is working with schools across London, the West Midlands and Manchester.

City Year volunteers work with their school to support students with complex barriers or challenges, which can include attendance, behaviour and attainment.

DHL colleagues provide support to both City Year volunteers and the partner schools in a variety of ways:

  • Delivering inspiring career talks
  • Mentoring City Year volunteers
  • Supporting volunteers to develop leadership skills
  • Hosting volunteers on site visits

ThinkForward is a charity that works to empower young people in the UK through long-term coaching. They equip young people with the skills and experience they need to move into work or further education after they finish school. Their work spans London, Nottingham, the West Midlands and Kent.

ThinkForward appoints specially trained coaches who work with the selected students for a period of 5 years from the age of 13 to 18 years, followed by some post-school support. The coaches help the students improve their attendance, behaviour, attainment, and to prepare for the world of work.

DHL colleagues support ThinkForward students through;

  • Business mentoring programme for Year 10 students
  • Hosting work placements for young adults with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)
  • Delivering careers and employability skills sessions

Bookmark have a simple vision: they want every child to read. More than 1 in 4 children in England are unable to read well when they leave primary school. These children will continue to struggle for the rest of school and beyond which has a devastating impact on their life chances. To tackle this, Bookmark deliver an online reading programme where volunteers help a child between 5-10 years old strengthen their literacy skills and develop their reading confidence.

Beyond their core reading programme, Bookmark strive to create a whole school reading culture in their partner schools, providing vital resources, new books and training for staff. They aim to be the chosen literacy partner for schools and delivered over 40,000 reading sessions in 2023/24.

DHL colleagues can sign up to their online reading programme, supporting a child with 2x 30 minute sessions a week for 6 weeks or 1x 30 minute session a week for 12 weeks.

The Difference exists to improve the life-outcomes of the most vulnerable children by raising the status and expertise of those who educate them.

The Difference creates specialist senior school leaders, with the expertise to lead whole-school and multi-agency approaches to meeting the learning, wellbeing and safeguarding needs of all children, and most crucially those with high levels of need and vulnerability.

Through its programmes, research and partnerships, The Difference learns what works to improve outcomes for vulnerable children, and shares this best practice across its network and the sector.

In 2017, Difference founder Kiran Gill published a groundbreaking report with think-tank IPPR that shed light on school exclusions as a social justice issue.

The report showed that England’s most vulnerable children are disproportionately affected by exclusions. All too often, these children miss out on a quality education.

The Difference was founded to change this story – through work in three key areas.
– People
– Practice
– Policy

Place2Be  are committed to helping children and young people with their mental health, and the need for our services grows daily. 1 in 6 children in the UK experience mental health difficulties. Half of all mental health problems are established by age 14.

Place2Be’s approach to children’s and young people’s mental health is to intervene early to prevent life-long mental health issues.

They do this by:

  • Providing support early, spotting mental health problems before they develop and helping children and young people cope with challenges throughout their lives
  • Using an effective therapeutic approach backed by research that combines several ways of working
  • Offering a range of mental health support services, including advice and support for families and school staff, to build resilience and raise awareness of mental health across the whole school community

Colleagues have supported with the following activities to raise aspirations within our partner schools:

  • Running an interactive social enterprise session
  • Providing inspiring career talks
  • Introducing students to skills through our Primary Skills session
  • Developing an understanding of a wide range of employability skills
  • Hosting students on site visits
  • Providing a Trucks & Child safety demonstration (TACS for Teachers – DHL UK Foundation)

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