As part of The Prince's Trust 10-year partnership celebrations with Gap, we have loved catching up with the amazing people, like Katie Carpenter from Stockport, who have made our partnership so special and finding out what positive wellbeing means to them.

"I always felt like I wanted to do more with my life, but I didn’t know how to start. I really struggled with this and felt judged.

"Before finding The Prince’s Trust, I grew up living at home with my mum, I always had low confidence and shyness was something I really struggled with, especially approaching new people. This led to me feeling really low, and finding a job tough, as sharing ideas and putting myself ‘out there’ was hard.

"It was at a meeting at the JobCentre that I found out about The Prince’s Trust and the Get into Retail programme with Gap and I decided to give it a try. Retail was always something I had a passion for, but the customer service part always held me back.

"On the first day of the programme I was anxious knowing that I’d have to meet new people and join in, but everyone was so welcoming and encouraging, which eased all my worries! I was able to put my feelings of judgement aside, and I can’t believe how I overcame my nerves to secure a place on the programme! 

I could not be more proud of myself; I gave the retail course my all. It is my greatest achievement. The programme has now made me feel that if I set my mind on something, I can achieve success.

"A year later and I am loving my job at Gap, it’s so great to be able to support other young people who are taking part in the programmes, and also get involved in fundraising myself, I loved being part of Future Steps!

"I really feel I have overcome my shyness and am loving every day which is also good for my positive wellbeing. That's why I enjoy doing activities that make me happy and learning new skills which also support me in my job role, while boosting our team morale.

Gap has supported me with my confidence and has inspired me to do well at work. I always appreciate being recognised for my good work skills and improvements in my job role, by customers and my colleagues.