In Aid of
Tomorrow's People
Amount donated: £22,000
Tomorrow's People is a national employment charity working with people who face the greatest barriers to employment, helping them get and keep a job. The charity's vision is to break the cycle of unemployment and dependency in deprived communities throughout the UK by supporting both young people and adults to build their confidence, motivation and skills and networking on their behalf to introduce them to work experience and job opportunities. Tomorrow's People has been transforming lives for over 30 years and in the process helped over 475,000 people on their journey into work since its foundation in 1984.
The reasons someone is out of work long-term can be complex and multi-faceted, ranging from turbulent family life, to mental health issues, from a lack of basic skills to a criminal record or physical disability. Tomorrow's People treats every client as an individual and works with each of them to develop a bespoke pathway into sustainable employment. All the money raised from today's lunch will go directly to helping vulnerable young people who join the Tomorrow's People Working It Out programme in Scotland. Based in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Inverclyde and Galashiels. Working It Out is a lifechanging, four month programme for unemployed 16 - 24 year olds to build skills, confidence and motivation for work or training.
Tomorrow's People has been in Scotland for 30 years and delivering Working It Out locally since 2004. In that time we have helped over 15,000 people on their journey into work.
Chair
Viscountess Younger of Leckie
Jennie Younger has worked for over 25 years in Financial Services, Pharmaceuticals and Energy industries. Jennie is currently a partner at FTI Consulting where she advises clients across the strategic communications spectrum. Prior to that she was Global Head of Client Marketing and Communications for Deutsche Bank's investment banking business. She joined Deutsche Bank from GlaxoSmithKline where she was a member of the company's Corporate Executive Team and Global Head of Communications and Community Partnerships. Prior to that she was at British Gas after 10 years as an Equity Research Analyst in the City. She received the 'European Women of Achievement Award for Business' in 2004.
Jennie is a Trustee of the Royal Drawing School and an Advisory Board member of the English National Opera. She is married to Viscount Younger of Leckie, who is a working peer in the House of Lords. They have three children.
“This is the ninth Women of Achievement Lunch and I am delighted to welcome everyone here today. The lunch was established to celebrate the achievements and contributions made in many fields by women who have Scottish connections and to support Scottish charities. We hope you will enjoy meeting up with old friends, making new ones and listening to our amazing speakers, who are such an important feature of this lunch.
This year's lunch is supporting an important charity, 'Tomorrow's People and their work in Scotland, which helps some of the most challenged people in the most disadvantaged communities to get into work and keep a job. We are very fortunate to have as our speakers, Baroness Stedman-Scott, the Founder of Tomorrow's People'; Ysenda Maxtone Graham, writer and author; and Rosie Stancer, one of this country's most successful polar explorers. Each has an inspiring story to tell, and we are so grateful to them for coming to talk to us today.
Since this lunch began in 2007, we have raised almost £200,000 for Scottish Charities, up to £20,000 each year, all of which goes to the charity. With your help and support, we hope to raise at least as much this year for such an inspiring cause.
We are hugely grateful to our sponsors whose generosity ensures that every penny from the ticket sales, donations and advertising will go direct to 'Tomorrow's People'. Standard Life is our new Gold Sponsor with our two Silver Sponsors, Diageo and Mactaggart & Mickel. I would also like to thank all those who have donated raffle prizes and advertised in the programme.
Finally, I would like to say a huge thank you to the Committee, who have given so willingly of their time and talents, and for all their hard work to make this lunch a success.“
Sponsors
Speakers
The Baroness Stedman-Scott OBE – Ambassador and ex-CEO Tomorrow’s People
Debbie Stedman-Scott was the Chief Executive of national employment charity Tomorrow's People from 2005-15. Now an Ambassador, Debbie was with the charity when it was founded in 1984, since when it has helped over 475,000 people on their journey back to work.
Debbie is a leading thinker in the employability sector: her specialist expertise is sought by policy makers' advisory boards, including the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and the International Centre for Drugs Policy. She was Deputy Chair of lain Duncan Smith's Social Justice Commission, during which time it published the hugely influential "Breakdown Britain" and "Breakthrough Britain" reports.
Debbie was a founder member of the Employment Related Services Association (ERSA) and its first Chairman. She is a Trustee of New Philanthropy Capital. In 2013 she sat on the ACEVO Commission on Youth Unemployment led by David Miliband. She was named Charity Principal of the Year in 2005, Ernst and Young Social Entrepreneur of the Year 2010 and Deputy Lieutenant of East Sussex in 2007.
In January 2008, Debbie was awarded an OBE in the Queen's New Year's Honours for services to the unemployed. In July 2010, Debbie was ennobled and took her seat in the House of Lords as The Baroness Stedman-Scott of Rolvenden. Debbie has been a Deputy Speaker at the House of Lords since 2014.
Rosie Stancer – British Explorer and Polar Adventurer
Born in the UK, Rosie was brought up in the highlands of Scotland, before being buffed up at Heathfield for her secondary education. Her chapter as a 'Reluctant Debutante' was short-lived, after falling short of expected standards at a Henley Regatta luncheon ending up, in her case, in the River Thames.
After a career in commercial television production and public relations, Rosie took her first steps into the icy world of polar exploration with her first Arctic expedition to the North Pole at the dignified age of 36. Since that initial all female expedition, Rosie has completed four further polar expeditions, to both North and South Poles.
Two of these have been solo, with Rosie making history for both expeditions. She broke the record for speed on her trek to the South Pole, and spent the longest time alone during her quest to be the first woman to reach the North Pole solo. Arguably this is Rosie's greatest achievement to date, 84 days alone across the 5 million square miles of ocean ice, in the most challenging conditions on earth. This year Rosie will be heading up the first ever female-led expedition through the deadly Taklamakan Desert in China, 'the desert you go into, and don't come out of'. Rosie fully intends to 'come out' the other end as she will use the expedition to draw attention to the needs of those living in such inhospitable conditions, where water is scarce and often polluted. Each expedition Rosie has undertaken has been in aid of Special Olympics GB under the Royal Patronage of HRH Prince Charles. Her ensuing expedition will also be in support of Veterans Aid. She conducts research into meteorology, ice conditions and physiology, which has earned her an honorary doctorate. Rosie is married to William, whose grandfather was a polar explorer alongside Sir Ernest Shackleton. They have a son, Jock.
Ysenda Maxtone Graham – Author and Journalist
Ysenda Maxtone Graham was born in 1962 and educated at The King's School, Canterbury and Girton College, Cambridge.
She has written widely for many newspapers and magazines, as features writer and columnist, and she regularly writes features and book reviews for The Spectator and Country Life. She is the author of The Church Hesitant: A Portrait of the Church of England Today; The Real Mrs Miniver, a biography of her grandmother Jan Struther, which was shortlisted for the Whitbread Biography of the Year Award, 2002; Mr Tibbits's Catholic School, the story of a small Roman Catholic boys' prep school in South Kensington; and An Insomniac's Guide to the Small Hours. Her new book, Terms and Conditions, about life in girls' boarding schools in the midtwentieth century, will be published this autumn by Slightly Foxed Editions.
Ysenda lives in London with her husband Michael and their three sons Toby, Charles and Francis.