Women Supporting Women
Women Supporting Women is a passionate group who are committed to changing the lives of young women at The Prince’s Trust, helping them gain the skills needed to live, learn and earn.
The mission of Women Supporting Women is simple: to provide the right help to nurture, empower and inspire young women to build their own futures through employment, self-employment, education or training.
Young women need our support in particular and suffer some challenges more acutely than men. For instance:
- The Office of National Statics reports that 92,700 young women are now excluded from secondary school every year. This is an increase from 70,000 last year
- The Office of National Statistics data shows that there are currently 388,000 young women not in education, employment or training
- Self-harm rates amongst young girls are dramatically increasing. NHS data shows a 68% rise in hospital admissions because of self-harm among girls under 17 in the past decade
- Mental health issues are at their highest. The Prince’s Trust Youth Index reports that overall wellbeing is at its lowest since the Index was first commissioned in 2009. Young women are suffering from self-confidence issues and a feeling of ‘not being good enough in general’
- Year on year The Prince’s Trust sees less women coming through their programmes than men
Young women across the UK need you if they are to achieve their full potential. You can help to transform their lives through joining Women Supporting Women in three ways:
- You can give personally - A bespoke, individual relationship with The Prince’s Trust, with many supporters typically committing gifts over three to four years
- You can give through your company - Support given via funding from a business, which includes a tailor-made partnership, volunteering opportunities for staff and potential product collaborations
- You can fundraise - Fundraising ideas include taking part in a Trust challenge event such as our Palace to Palace bike ride, hosting dinner parties, or organising a group challenge such as a trek or mountain climb to help raise funds
Chrissie Rucker OBE, Founder, The White Company & Founding Silver Patron of Women Supporting Women
By joining Women Supporting Women, you will be helping to ensure that young women’s futures are not predetermined by circumstance. Over our 42 years, The Prince’s Trust has become expert in supporting those in particularly challenging situations, which range from mental health problems, growing up in the care system, victims of sexual abuse, involvement with in the criminal justice system and long-term unemployment.
Our tailored programmes and long-term support give young people the practical skills and emotional resilience to pick themselves back up and create their own positive futures. When you change just one life, it has an incredible ‘halo’ effect which benefits their family, friends and their local community, thus deepening your impact.
We passionately believe that all young women deserve the chance to succeed. We want to raise £10 million over the next five years which will make it possible to change the lives of over 6,500 more incredible young women.
We very much hope you will join us in changing the lives of young women at The Prince’s Trust.
If you would like to find out more about Women Supporting Women and how you can invest in our work, please contact Gemma Craggs on Gemma.Craggs@princes-trust.org.uk or 020 7543 1299.
I thought about killing myself and had emotional outbursts which were having a dramatic effect on our family life, causing arguments.
I had no life, no purpose, no self-worth I didn't get out of bed, didn't do anything. I didn't care if I lived or died.
