Becoming Possible
Possibility is one of the four key values at Grit – to me it represents the willingness to move past any resignation and engage with what’s possible – and this spirit feels very present in Grit right now. We are busy planning and scheduling our work for the new academic year in September 2023 and are seeing new partners come on board with new ideas about how the Grit approach can support their students, staff & whole organisations. Not only that we have new board members (as you’ll see below) bringing their energy and ideas to Grit and supporting the organisation’s growth, development and the possibilities for its future.
Once again, this same spirit of possibility is reflected in the case studies we are seeing coming back from participants. It was back in June 2022 when we first worked with Haringey Children’s Services and almost a year later, it is so uplifting to hear their stories of transformation. Rodney’s journey – below – encapsulates this movement from a limited view to one rich with possibility. This is what it’s all about for us at Grit.
Thank you to all of those who continue to support us, by volunteering, by partnering, by donating, by sharing our social media posts and by dropping us a line from time to time to let us know how you’re getting on. The Grit community truly keeps us going and helps us to keep looking for those new possibilities.
Ellie
Coming Aboard!
We’re thrilled to welcome Neil Basu to the Grit Board of Trustees.
A long serving member of our Advisory Board, Neil is a retired Assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service. He led the operational response to the 2017 terror attacks and in 2018 became the first Asian to lead the UK’s Counter Terrorism Policing organisation. He retired in November 2022 as the most senior officer of colour in the UK.
And we’re delighted, too, that Metropolitan Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Helen Millichap has joined the Grit Advisory Board.
Helen is the Met’s lead for Violence against Women and Girls. She led on a variety of serious crime and Counter Terrorism investigations before becoming Borough Commander in Greenwich and then taking the same role in Haringey.
Great to have you both on board!
“It’s changed the way I approach my work. It’s changed the way I approach my life.”
Rodney was a Social Worker at Haringey Council when he did a Grit Programme in the summer of 2022.
"I’ve been working in the Service for a while but I didn’t have a lot of confidence. I didn’t have the courage to think about being anything more. But since Grit all sorts of things have become possible.”
Read Rodney’s Grit Story here.
Great Expectations
“Those early days of University in particular, are ripe with expectation and myth: the promise of transformation, of reinvention, of chances to break free from the past and begin afresh. It’s a time to shed a skin and become a new, better, more successful version of yourself."
Read our latest Higher Education Policy Institute blog on why it is the challenging and uncomfortable conversations that can disrupt accepted myths about how students and the universities themselves should be, and can make for a truly transformational student experience.
Volunteers Wanted!
Do you live in or within travelling distance of Brent? Are you passionate about making a real difference with young people?
Are you up for volunteering as a Grit Life Coach to help a young person turn their life around?
In partnership with Ark Elvin Academy in Wembley, in the autumn of 2023 Grit is running a project supporting students to make the most of their education, and to develop their skills and talents.
We are looking for volunteers (aged 23+) with the enthusiasm, commitment, and time to make it happen. No previous experience required. We provide comprehensive training and support – free.
For more information and to register your interest, please contact hayley@grit.org.uk or call 07469 697987
“The experience has been mind-blowing. I’m getting goose bumps just talking about it.”
Grit volunteer 2021
What is Grit Like?
What students tell us it is like to do a Grit workshop – in 90 seconds!
