text: Manchester-based supplementary school, Rekindle, has been able to expand its team with the appointment of a referral lead in part thanks to a generous community donation, enabling more young people to access the charity’s vital services.
  Rekindle is a supplementary school which aims to bring the joy back to learning and support students from working-class communities to fall back in love with education. The school focuses on providing pastoral care, community support and encouraging achievement, offering a nurturing place for young people to attend after mainstream school, between 4-8pm. Young people can nominate themselves to attend the school, or can be nominated by parents, carers or teachers.
  The school is run by a youth management group, made up of young people from South Manchester, as well as former teachers passionate about making a difference to the lives of young people in the community. Some of the support offered to students includes, homework help, a daily freshly cooked meal, care packages and a mentor scheme.
  The new referral lead will play a vital role in the charity, liaising with the families and carers of the schools’ students, building a positive relationship with them and providing an effective bridge between them and the school.
  The donation was given by The Equilibrium Foundation, the charitable giving arm of Equilibrium Financial Planning, based in Handforth, Cheshire. The foundation has already raised £750,000 for charities in the local community, with a goal to raise £4m by 2028.
  Rekindle currently operates in Manchester, but has plans to establish new schools in Bradford, the North East and Scotland, with the help of further donations.
  Ruth Ibegbuna, founder of Rekindle said: “In the midst of the cost-of-living crisis, it’s more fundamental than ever that young people in the community have a warm, safe place to go, where they can receive a hot meal and thrive in a nurturing environment. With the help of generous donations from Equilibrium and others, we have been able to hire a referral lead to help us to build great relationships with parents, which is key to the success of our project.
  “Unfortunately, the mainstream education system tends to cater for those who are already thriving. By offering a different learning environment, we are able to provide young people who may feel disenfranchised by the traditional education system with the skills and surroundings to succeed. As the services we provide are free, a lot of time is spent trying to raise money for Rekindle. Donations like this are key to our mission to expand the dream school concept across the country and provide education that is accessible to all.”
  Debbie Jukes, partner and head of client care at Equilibrium Financial Planning, said: “Rekindle is a lifeline for many young people, providing an environment where they can really thrive, whilst developing important skills that will equip them for life. We’re delighted to be able to support Rekindle with this donation and are so pleased to see that it has helped them to fund a vital new role, as well as work towards expanding the supplementary school concept to other communities and bring the joy back to learning for even more young people.”