I can hardly believe that we have been going for a year- but equally cannot believe how much we have grown and the huge number of enthusiastic, inspirational individuals who have helped us achieve our goals during that time. With fundraisers in the UK from a Roman Rumble to Man V Food, we have engaged with supporters from Knutsford, Kent, London, Newcastle and Edinburgh to name just a few.
However most importantly we have smashed our one year aim of £5,000 and helped tens of young people with Type 1 diabetes access educational opportunities to enable them to break the cycle of poverty and enter employment to afford the medication they need to survive. We are delighted that your hard earned money has enabled these people in India to access school, as well as vocational training courses in beauty, tailoring and electronics.
Perhaps most remarkably, we have also been able to fund university places for young people in dentistry, nursing, ayuverdic medicine, engineering and IT. I am delighted that these individuals have grasped the opportunities with both hands and are all excelling in their chosen areas.
Another project we are delighted to have been able to help is providing bicycles for these young people so that they do not need to pay expensive and restrictive bus fares to get to school.
Undoubtedly these opportunities will enable the young people to change their lives forever as they will be able to enter employment to fund the costs of their own medication, become ambassadors against the stigma surrounding diabetes, and even give money back to help others. Thank you for helping us give them the gift of a happy, healthy, sustainable future!
Looking forward, we are excited to take the Pendsey vision to more young people in new places. We will continue to support our local partner, the DREAM Trust, in India, to provide educational and vocational opportunities to those with Type 1 diabetes. In addition we are hoping to provide between 60-80 additional bikes (around £35 each) to make sure cost is not a barrier to education to these young people.
We are also excited to announce a new local partnership- watch this space for more details.
And of course to make all of this possible we have some great events in the pipeline- to name a few, we have a cocktail night, a quiz, and even a cycle ride across South India to share with you soon.
Thank you to everyone who has made our first year possible- those who have cycled, baked, eaten, quizzed, and performed magic tricks! To a wonderful team of supporters and trustees who have believed in the Pendsey vision. And last but not least, to the inspirational young people, who refuse to be beaten by their condition, and those who refuse to give up on them.
It costs just £40 to send a child to school for a year in India. Help us to give the gift of education to even more young people with diabetes in year two.
Lucy