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Rank Memorial Award 2019

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Memorial Award 2019

Today we launch the Rank Memorial Award 2019, which was established in 2010 to commemorate our former Chairman, Mr. Fred Packard.

The aim of the Memorial Award is to create an opportunity to travel and explore a specific area of personal interest, relating to our work that will serve to inspire, educate or promote the interests, values or ethos of the Foundation.

The 2019 programme is open and available to anybody associated with the Rank Foundation and RankNet, through our range of initiatives and programmes. There will be one award of £8,000 which may be shared depending on circumstances. Applicants must be 18+ to apply with no upper age limit.

We are looking to support an individual who has designed their own programme of learning around one of the Foundation’s key areas of interest: leadership or enterprise in place.

For more information and application forms, please head to RankNet.

Meet some of the past Memorial Award winners…

Lydia
Award Winner, 2018

Lydia applied to travel to Detroit, USA. Her hometown is Belfast, where the city’s current social challenges have strong parallels with those present in Detroit. Both Belfast and Detroit suffered from their decline as industrial powerhouses and this resulted in city-wide rioting, tensions between ethnic or religious groups, extreme economic challenges and increased derelict spaces.

Lydia was interested in exploring these similarities further by visiting Detroit’s social enterprises and community led initiatives with the view to bring her learning back to Belfast and implement it.

Lydia is currently in Detroit, embarking on her Memorial Award adventure, and she recently gave us as update:

“I’m currently dividing my time between a few different social ventures from community art to seed funding to neighbourhood gardening. There is loads going on here and the city has experienced huge change in the last five years. I’m particularly enjoying listening to the experiences of people who have been part of and witnessed the change. I know I will go back to Belfast having learned a lot from this city and its citizen led initiatives”

Viccie
Award Winner, 2018

Viccie’s interest is in the integration and application of Mindful Practices within educational and clinical settings supporting young people’s sexual health and health and wellbeing.

Viccie applied for a Rank Memorial Award to support her travel to Kathmandu, Nepal, where she intended to visit the Kopan Monastery. She planned to attend a 5 day course there which provides an overview over Tibetan Buddhism, and introduces its fundamental principles. It introduces meditation and mindfulness techniques to improve life by enriching it with a greater sense of balance, compassion and freedom. Viccie then planned to spend 3 days within a community group exploring how this learning transpires into everyday life in Nepal.
The next stop on Viccie’s trip would be Emeryville, California, where she would visit the Mindful Schools organisation and would spend time learning from the course trainers how mindfulness techniques can be embedded into school curriculums across the world and what barriers people have faced and how they have overcome them. The final stop would be to visit the Carver Centre in Port Chester, New York who have completed a yearlong course with Mindful Schools. Viccie’s plan was to spend 3 days there, gaining tips on how similar can be implemented within the area and organisation she works.

Jenny
Award Winner, 2017

Jenny applied for the Rank Memorial Award just as she completed her Time to Shine internship year, to travel to India to learn more about human trafficking – why it happens, how it can be prevented in Northern Ireland and globally and how business can play a part in that. Upon looking into a few organisations, Jenny applied to visit Freeset for two months as fair trade business offering employment to women forced into Kolkata’s sex trade through human trafficking or poverty.

Jenny planned to travel to Kolkata for two months, learning from Freeset and taking part in a training programme in called “Freedom Encounter” followed by 4 weeks of “on the job”.

Michaela
Award Winner, 2017

Michaela applied for a Rank Memorial Award in the hope to gain a deeper insight into how a successful national organisation can combine all sectors together – private, public and voluntary to create a more playful thriving community for children and families. Michaela identified that kids in the UK are playing less than any previous generation. Because of this, children are increasingly unhappy, unhealthy and falling behind: one in three kids is obese or overweight and one in five kids has a mental illness. Moreover, kids are not developing critical 21st century skills such as collaboration, creativity, problem-solving, resilience and empathy that they will need to succeed as adults in the global economy.

Michaela travelled to the United States for six weeks, and planned to shadow a charity called KaBOOM!. To enable kids and families to play more, KaBOOM! aims to address structural barriers to play by continuing to lead Build it with KaBOOM! playgrounds and provide grants.

Time to Shine Launch 2019

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Last week, 31 brand new Time to Shine Leaders and their managers were at The Midland Hotel in Morecambe for the 2019 launch. The cohort was split into two groups: Group 1 who attended from Monday to Wednesday, and Group 2 who arrived on Wednesday afternoon, leaving on Friday.  The managers joined their respective Time to Shine Leaders a day after their arrival. This meant that each group of leaders had 24 hours to get to know one another, participate in ice-breaker sessions, and engage with their Action Learning Set groups.

There were sessions were run by our very own Caroline Broadhurst and Kai Wooder to introduce the programme, a ‘Leadersmithing’ session was run by the fantastic Eve Poole (whom many of you will have engaged with at our Annual Conference in October 2018), an introduction to Action Learning Sets was delivered by RankNet Leaders Action Group member, and CEO of Blackpool Carers Centre, Michelle Smith, and a ‘Leading through a Growth Mindset’ session was run by Jen Mackay. The groups were engaged, willing and ready to dive in, which was a joy to witness.

The launch was also a fantastic opportunity for new Time to Shine Managers to meet other managers in the same situation, but also to meet with those who had managed a Leader in previous years. There were some guidance sessions for the managers, with time for questions to clear up an uncertainties.

The Rank Foundation team had a wonderful week meeting the new Leaders and their managers, and we are looking forward to watching the leaders, managers, and their respective organisations develop and grow over 2019.

40 Years: The Rank Foundation Leadership Award

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On Friday 23rd November, The Rank Foundation celebrated 40 Years of the School Leadership Award, as well as the 15th Anniversary of The Rank Fellowship.

A celebratory dinner was organised by our Director of Education, Tim Young, and the Chair of the Fellowship, Lindsey Clay, to be held at Inner Temple Hall in London, and all beneficiaries of the School Leadership Award (dating back to 1978) were invited to attend.

Over 190 guests attended, including current beneficiaries of the School Leadership Award, Fellows, Headteachers, Trustees and both current and past staff who administered the award.

Tim Young had created a ‘rotating’ place setting arrangement, to ensure that current Leadership Award Holders were able to network with members of the fellowship, which meant that much career advice was given, stories of Community Action Placements were exchanged and old acquaintances and friendships were rekindled.  The room was filled with sixth formers, University Students, service men and women, doctors, actors and actresses, economists, scientists, lawyers and photographers, just to name a few.

The Rank Foundation would like to thank everyone who attended, and hopes that old connections have been revitalised and that new friendships and associations will be successful!

The Rank Foundation reaches Plymouth

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The Rank Foundation is embarking on a £1.5m investment in the city of Plymouth.

Known as Britain’s Ocean City, Plymouth is home to 260,000 residents in addition to the 22,000 students at the university.  It has a rich history and a vibrant marine and maritime economy, however its unemployment rate is higher than the national average and the NHS records indicate high levels of poverty and deprivation. More than a quarter of Plymothians are amongst the poorest 20% in the UK.

With our previous and ongoing work in Hull and Dundee, the Foundation is enthusiastic about working with the latest addition to our Place-Based programmes. The Foundation has identified a collaborative energy in Plymouth which, with investment in the city and the people, has much potential to produce and nurture similar relationships and successes to Hull and Dundee.

We will be working with two strategic partners, the Real Ideas Organisation (RIO) and the School of Social Entrepreneurs (SSE), who will help to drive the RISE (Rank Inclusive growth Social Enterprise) programme in Plymouth. We have also appointed Phil Davies (who was previously Principal at City College Plymouth) as our local associate and Rank representative.

Visit our latest Place-Based webpage here to read more about our investment in Plymouth, and get to know the participating projects.

Community Action Placements 2018

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We are now mid-way through our annual period of Community Action Placements, hosted by organisations known to, and funded by, The Rank Foundation.

Our School Leadership Award Holders are required to do two Community Action Placements (CAP), learning how charities work, volunteering their time to get stuck in and hands-on with their programmes. Every year, The Rank Foundation organise between 30 and 40 placements with charities and organisations who are members of RankNet. Some placements are residential and some are commutable, and for two weeks the Leadership Award Holders gain experience in the Third Sector.

Max

Ykids

“I have had non-stop fun throughout the entire time I’ve been in Bootle and the whole experience has been truly unforgettable. I’m honoured to have been able to act as part of such an amazing team of youth workers who have allowed me to develop my leadership qualities and contribute towards making a difference to the lives of a group of amazing young people. The variety of opportunities I was able to help out with was incredible. I experienced bee-keeping for the first time, helped decorate the community garden ready for a competition and even ended up putting my carpentry skills to the test by building props for a jungle themed holiday club for which I was part of the team that ran the programme. I truly couldn’t have wisher for a better time on my community action placement.”

Tasia

Khulisa

“I went into this placement with an open mind and no specific expectations, as I had not heard of Khulisa before and was excited to see what they entailed. Regardless of my limited knowledge on the charity I wanted to utilise this placement opportunity to nurture my leadership skills.


My time at Khulisa was amazing, there was always something to do; a way for me to contribute, meaning I never found myself bored. Every member of the charity’s team was welcoming and it was clear that they believed in the work they were doing in order to help overlooked groups in society. I found myself participating in taster sessions, writing articles for their newsletter and watching spontaneous live TV interviews of the charity’s CEO. I am appreciative of this experience and will certainly keep in contact with Khulisa as it is an exceptional charity, with equally integral people behind it.”

Bharath


PEEK (Possibilities for Each and Every Kid)

“My two week placement at PEEK has been an extremely enjoyable one. The children at each school for my placement are very kind, enthusiastic and brilliant and I am very grateful to PEEK for the opportunity they have given me to work with so many incredible people from a wide spectrum and to learn about different cultures and backgrounds. The staff have been amazing; they are welcoming, friendly and very passionate about their work. Each day has been wonderful, there is always something new and the children are so eager to get involved. A highlight for me would be the day that I went on a trip with a primary school to Glasgow Green as every single individual was just having a blast, every parent and child were having the time of their life. Even people that were not with PEEK were getting involved with all the activities. It was the most energetic and vibrant day for me.”

Jesse

Maundy Relief

“Observing people and giving advice to clients about benefits has helped to open my eyes as to how difficult it is for those who need to claim benefits to be able to figure out which ones are best for them and then how to apply for those benefits. I also attended training on Universal Credit which showed me how complex the system actually is. The second piece of training that I undertook was some first aid training which was very useful as it is transferable to any workplace. In addition to shadowing people and giving advice I also did some volunteering in the drop in which included preparing food parcels for those in need, preparing and serving a hot meal to people who wouldn’t be able to access it, as well as working behind the desk which included taking phone calls and assessing clients for food parcels and taking details for future appointments.”

Rank Accelerator Event 2018

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The Rank Foundation has now launched the annual Rank Accelerator Event in preparation for the annual conference, held in October.

Open to organisations that are members of RankNet, the Rank Accelerator Event  has a prize fund of £10,000 in support of enterprise.

Generating income and sustaining services has always been a key challenge for the sector and this has undoubtedly been harder in recent years. The Foundation wants to actively encourage all projects within RankNet to consider enterprise and to explore opportunities for generating both social impact and a financial return.

The Event is hosted at our conference, and shortlisted organisations are given the opportunity to pitch to the audience (approximately 220 attendees), and a panel of judges.

Past Winners

The Rank Accelerator Event has been running for a number of years. In 2016, the winner was chosen solely by the judges, but in 2017 (and with the birth of RankNet), an interactive voting system was put in place for the conference attendees to submit their choice of winner. This meant that in 2017, there was a judges winner, and an audience winner. Hover to view details of each event winner.

PEEK (Winners 2016)
Winning Idea: Pop Up Community Cinema

PEEK had been testing out free cinema experiences to disadvantaged families in the East-End of Glasgow. Families were known to not be able to afford going to the cinema together, as it has become far too expensive. PEEK identified that cinema brings a whole host of benefits to families, both educationally and socially. PEEK asked themselves: How could we make the programme sustainable, as PEEK pride themselves on free opportunities for families and young people?
The Accelerator Event was the perfect opportunity to ensure sustainability. After winning, PEEK employed an intern to get the business model prepared and marketed. They marketed to the private sector, creating four different cinema packages of varying costs. From this, 100% of profit goes back into the community pop up cinema programme. Ever since, the community cinema has continued, with young people taking ownership in planning and provision.

Anima Muslim Women Resource Centre – Judges Winner 2017
Winning Idea: Culinary Enterprise Initiative

Amina explained that to many Muslim women that used their services, ‘cooking and cleaning’ were their main skills. They recognised an opportunity to tap into the women’s talents, and pilot a culinary enterprise initiative. Complementing their innovative practical ‘business block’ model, funded by RBS Skills and Opportunities Fund, where women are supported to embark on an entrepreneurial journey experiencing brainstorming, product design and production, budgets and costings, marketing and selling, Amina proposed to run a pilot programme of six ‘Taste of . . . ‘ events, bringing home cooked, authentic dishes from across the globe to the people of Dundee.
The proposed programme intended to provide free training and offer work experience opportunities in administration, customer service and hospitality, equipping local Muslim and ME women with sought after UK experience in growing sectors, enhancing their employability prospects, boosting their confidence and challenging the negative stereotypes propagated by the media.
So far, Amina have run a “Taste of…” lunch (which was very successful), provided food hygiene training opportunities for 11 of their service users, hired a kitchen team leader, and gained lots of interest in the local community.

Centre 63 – Audience Winner 2017
Winning Idea: Remake Yourself Project

Centre 63 is based in the borough of Knowsley, which stands as the 5th most deprived Borough in England. Many residents face disproportionate repercussions from statutory funding cuts and benefit sanctions, so much of the community struggle to buy food, let alone buy furniture. The Remake Yourself Project aimed to create a hub that could divert waste from landfill, whilst supporting the skill development of young people and building their aspirations. The project would then offer sustainability to Centre 63 through the sale of upcycled furniture.
After co-winning the Rank Accelerator Event, Centre 63 has offered meaningful, skilled work to people in the local community via the following avenues: Upholstery courses engaging 12 volunteers with a passion for crafts, recycling and working for the good of the community; Design, Craft and Carpentry Workshops; Day care for the children of parents who are engaging with the sessions, so they can engage in social contact with others who are in similar positions; and an Earn Furniture Scheme. The scheme allowed beneficiaries to not only make use of their new skills, but also work towards claiming a piece of their own work to take home for their own use. This is really important to volunteers who are financially very stretched.

If your organisation is a member of RankNet and would like to apply, log onto RankNet and complete the application form under ‘Opportunities’. You can also read more about criteria and expectations on Kai Wooder (Director of Enterprise) Blog on RankNet.

If you have any technical issues or have any queries about RankNet signup, please email ranknet@rankfoundation.com.