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MARK EVISON FOUNDATION Five Years On, 2009-2015
In 2014 the Foundation turned five. There is a lot to be proud of in its first five years - in particular
the inspired personal challenges undertaken by our young beneficiaries, who are growing in
number year on year. As always, we marvel at the ingenuity of young people and their imaginative
ideas – from building a homemade wind turbine, to putting on a winter pantomime for a local
children’s hospice, to a remembrance cycle to mark the 453 British military deaths in Afghanistan.
During that time we have been growing exponentially – from having 7 partner schools and 25
beneficiaries in 2014 for our School Award scheme, we now have 33 active partner schools (so far)
in 2015, anticipating granting at least 45 School Awards and increasing our beneficiaries this year
five-fold to an additional 115 young people. There is clearly an appetite from schools and young
people to keep expanding our reach.
No. of awards given year on year
The annual School Award scheme offers 16-18 year-olds at our partner schools the opportunity to
submit a project and apply for expenses of up to £500. Most of our schools are in disadvantaged
areas of London, and have a very high proportion of free school meals. Such opportunities as the
Foundation offers do not exist in most of them: since we are essentially non-academic, a complete
range of students can shine and feel valued. Even those who are not successful in applying benefit
from the process, as they have to plan, put in an application and be interviewed, a first and difficult
experience preparing them for the years ahead.
We continue to be sought out for Major Awards by 18-30 year-olds for even more ambitious
projects.
It is an exciting year ahead. Because of this momentum, at its meeting in late December 2014 the
Board decided to develop a two-year Business Plan for growth, pushing the Foundation into a
more secure and established future with significant fundraising, and aiming to increase our
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endowment fund to become more self-sufficient. In line with this, in February 2015 we applied for
and received our first-ever grant, £10,000 from the Hedley Foundation to begin this process and
to show support for us.
About Us
For those not familiar with the Foundation, it was set up following Mark’s death from a gunshot
wound on the 12th May 2009: he had been leading a Welsh Guards platoon in Helmand Province,
Afghanistan. The Foundation’s overall mission is to promote in young people their own personal,
mental and physical development: it is not a military charity.
Our awards provide expenses funding for projects which enable them to stretch themselves
constructively: we ask them to choose their own challenge, something they would really like to do
but is much harder than they have done before at their own level – being ‘in the driver’s seat’ for
their project is essential for them to take ownership and benefit fully from carrying it through.
We are special because we want them to do what they want to do, we support them with their
expenses, and we ask that they sort it all out themselves. They grow through this, often embracing
independence and responsibility for the first time.
Please support us
In order to grow we need to keep funding new awards, fund additional staff, and fundraise
systematically.
So in our fifth year, would you arrange an event for us? Have a fundraising coffee party with
friends? Obtain sponsorship for us? Ask your company to support us? Donate (even perhaps
through making a legacy to us)? Or even donate a School Award of £500?
We would really appreciate it. PLEASE HELP US.
Foundation Faces on Film
Philippa Thomas of Thomas Thomas Films, mother of our first award winner Tomos Davies, has
helped us produce a new film (gratis) which features some of our past award winners describing
how the experience has been transformative for them: James Rogers filmed it. It is an inspirational
film, and in school assemblies has been hugely instrumental in gaining interest in applying for
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awards, encouraging other students to raise their aspirations: we use a longer version to engage
prospective funders.
The film is available on our website homepage or at http://wdrv.it/1r0Ibk5.
We were encouraged by another parent of a previous award winner who came across his son in
the film by chance and emailed us:
‘I should let you know how this award changed A's life. A was at one of those adolescent turning points where a
responsibility, a purpose, a mission can make a man out of a boy. The preparation to bid for the award, the preparation
for the trip, the hardship and sense of mission that the trip entailed and the responsibility to share the experience with
other boys he felt thereafter, played a great role in shaping him. [My wife] and I often look back to that summer and see
what a difference it made in his life. I am sure the Mark Evison award does that for many boys.’
Evaluating Our Impact: School Awards
In summer 2014 we held focus groups with previous award winners and interviews with their
teachers to gain a better understanding of the benefits of our awards – to individuals, their schools
and their communities. The results were hugely encouraging, and we share just a few of the
comments here:
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There are multiple outcomes that go beyond the awards: teachers and young people report
on the emergence of business and project management skills, collaboration, resilience,
self-discovery and soaring self-confidence, among others, outcomes that prepare young
people for life – and its challenges - ahead.
‘The whole process made me realise that even things that seem like an unattainable hope can be made into a
reality with hard work and great support.’
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Many teachers commented on the exposure that a self-directed challenge allows – a
chance for young people to both step out of their comfort zone, and out of their immediate
environment.
‘Many of our students come from families who are first generation immigrants and/or are financially
disadvantaged; consequently they are fairly insular and rarely venture from [the local area]. The School
Awards give them an opportunity to embark on an adventure.’
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Winning an award substantially elevates individual profiles on their CVs and UCAS
applications.
‘[Our first award winner] has been transformed by it. He has gained hugely in confidence as a consequence
and it definitely helped with his UCAS application, without a doubt’
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Most of all, we are providing space for memorable experiences not otherwise available in
the pressures of school life.
‘My students talk about their challenges as if they are the best thing that they have done in their whole school
career and it has definitely inspired every single one of them to be more adventurous and do more with their
time.’
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Both young people and their teachers value that we are non-prescriptive, unlike other
challenge schemes in schools, and that the awards are inclusive and available to a range
of talents and abilities.
‘The boys who have come forward often have more to them than we realise until they’ve engaged with the
award, and it’s then that they’re seen in their true colours.’
The full report can be found at https://www.scribd.com/doc/237415367/MEF-School-AwardsOur-Impact.
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AWARD WINNERS 2014
In 2014 we granted 9 School Awards at 7 different schools, benefitting 25 students, and one Major
Award.
‘Climbing Ben Nevis’
‘Luxury Fashion Show’
Annual School Awards Up to £500, for 16-18 year olds
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Archbishop Tenison's School, Lambeth: Shayihan Mason, Jahid Miah Luxury Fashion Show
Dulwich College, Southwark: Stephanos Iossifidis, Tomas Benavides-Clark - Fallen Heroes
Cycling Challenge
Eastbury Comprehensive School, Barking and Dagenham: Matthew McCluskey and Kgothatso
Ntuli - Cycle to the Eiffel Tower
Feltham Community College, Hounslow: Ahmed Ahmed, Jason Chhetri, and Prabesh Katawal Climbing Ben Nevis
Haydon School, Hillingdon: Sacha Bhuchar, Louise O'Regan, and Hannah Pearce - Hadrian's
Wall Walk and Disability Awareness (Summer 2015)
Mossbourne Community Academy, Hackney: Rosanna Frith-Salem, Flora Keating, and Dorica
Santos –Landscape Painting on the Isle of Mull
Woodford County High School, Redbridge:
o Mareeha Zaman, Zobya Hussein, Karishma Desai, Imisi Omotade, and Noor Chughtai Winter Pantomime at Haven House Children’s Hospice (Spring 2015)
o Lauren Roberts and Samiyah Shah - Hiking Across the Brecon Beacons (Summer
2015)
o Tofa Mehzabin, Sahana Kannappan and Morgan Difalco - Cycling to the Lake District
and Camping (Summer 2015)
As always, there are too many inspiring stories to tell, but below is a flavor in the participants’
own words. See full accounts at www.markevisonfoundation.org/awards/winners.
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Landscape Painting on the Isle of
Mull: 12 canvasses, 4 days, 3 people,
2 tents and 1 island ‘In the summer of
2014, we set off on our journey from
London to the Isle of Mull, to complete our
camping and art making challenge.
During the 4 full days we had, we visited
the famously colourful town of Tobermory
in the north, Duarte castle in the west and a
small island to the west of Mull called Iona;
making some use of the bus services but
also hiking and using our navigating skills.
Throughout the week we each created
pieces of artwork in response to the
different locations we visited. We came
across many challenges like figuring out
the best ways to transport our art equipment and having to deal with uncomfortably hot walking weather
and relentless rain.
After 5 nights on the shielings holiday campsite it was time to say goodbye to Mull, it felt like home and we
were all sad to leave. Although we had encountered difficulties, we had without a doubt had a hugely
enjoyable and valuable experience. We exhibited our work, which included film, photography, paintings
and sketchbooks, on November 6th 2014, to raise money for the Mark Evison Foundation. It was a great
evening and we raised £50; as we sell more prints of our work we will donate all the money to the
foundation so that young people in the community can challenge themselves as we did.’
Winter Pantomime at Haven House
Children’s Hospice
‘We were extremely keen on producing
and presenting a winter pantomime to the
ailing children at Haven House Hospice. We spent three months preparing the script, holding auditions
and arranging for props and making arrangements with the care team manager at the hospice, using a
project plan to track our progress. We wrote a script based on ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarves’ with
an aim to make the pantomime as colourful and vibrant as possible, for children to easily understand.
All the children and their nurses at the hospice seemed to have enjoyed the panto. Organising the whole
panto was certainly a challenge for us especially considering the kind of audience we had to perform it to
and given that we have our exams soon. Nevertheless, the whole journey has been a fun one. We can't wait
to give an assembly to the whole school and will be forever grateful for the faith and trust [the Foundation]
showed in us.’
The pantomime was covered by the local paper, The Ilford Recorder:
http://www.ilfordrecorder.co.uk/news/students_perform_panto_for_youngsters_at_woodford_green_hospice_1_3972302
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Major Awards Up to £5000, for 18-30 year olds
Cycle to Gibraltar
‘This first day [to the ferry] was a very tough experience. The distance turned out to be 145km instead of
the 120km we expected. We cycled through France in one week. The terrain was moderately hilly, but for
most of the time we rode the bike lanes – France is very friendly to cyclists. We were very warmly
welcomed in all seven cities that we visited.
[Then] it was time to face a much greater challenge in Spain. There are almost no bike lanes, so for most
of the time we had to use major roads with very heavy traffic. The temperatures were rising up to 42oC so
we were drinking up to 8 litres of water per day. On average we had to climb over 1000m, which in such
weather conditions can be really demanding.
We stayed with ten different families and all of them were really curious to hear about our cause and the
trip itself.
So far it has been the most unforgettable experience in my whole life.
I met people from different cultures, I have seen many breath-taking landscapes and experienced an
immense surge of happiness when I finally saw the Rock of Gibraltar after 20 days of cycling. We both
felt real fulfilment, most importantly we learnt how to approach conflicts and how to solve them with
benefit for both parties. Also, we learnt that there is nothing you can be sure about, especially in terms of
human error and the weather! Before the challenge we didn’t know that we were able to withstand such
psychological pressure and that we could push ourselves that far physically.
After cycling a distance of 2,300km, we were welcomed by the Mayor of Gibraltar, the Consul of Poland
and Dean of Gibraltar at a special ceremony held at the Holy Trinity Cathedral. Many thanks to the
Mark Evison Foundation for helping us carry out such a monumental challenge.’
OTHER FOUNDATION BUSINESS
In 2014 we sought professional help for the first time and appointed Anna Patton to help us with
the audit and focus groups. Avanti Taneja is now spearheading the School Award project, and we
hope to appoint another person imminently to help with fundraising.
Margaret’s book about Mark, ‘Death of a Soldier’ continues to produce funds for the Foundation:
it was radio-dramatized for BBC Radio 4 on 10 November 2014.
www.amazon.co.uk/Death-Of-Soldier-Margaret-Evison/dp/1849544492
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SUPPORT EVENTS AND FUNDRAISING 2014
Your support has been a crucial part of the last year, and the Foundation could not have done so
much without all the generous donors who have contributed directly to the Foundation, and
those who have given their time to the many aspects of running it.
Here we give you a flavour of some of the wonderful Foundation events in 2014.
3 December 2014 Christmas party
Our annual Christmas get-together was once again held at The Drawing Room of the Benugo Bar on the
Southbank.
30 October 2014 Classical Kicks concert, Ronnie Scott's
Lizzie Ball and her group Classical Kicks played for us at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club in Soho.
16 September 2014 Wine tasting, Cavalry and Guards Club
We hosted a wine tasting at the Cavalry and Guards Club, with a Master of Wine, Derek Smedley, and wine
supplied by Berry Bros and Rudd. Sir Andrew Motion, retired poet-laureate, spoke at the dinner following
the wine tasting.
31 August 2014 Open garden, Dulwich
The garden at Court Lane was opened to the public, with tea and cake served to over 100 visitors, raising
funds for the Foundation.
21 June 2014 Award winners' get-together and Summer party
Many of our former award winners joined us for two focus group sessions in May and June to give us feedback
on the awards process. The second session on 21 June was followed by a barbecue also attended by the Foundation's supporters.
4 March 2014 Dinner at the Tower of London Lord Richard and Lady Pippa Dannatt hosted a small
fund-raising dinner which included a private view of the Crown Jewels, a tour of the Queens House, a
wonderful dinner, and finally watching the Ceremony of the Keys.
Individual efforts
October 2014
Inter Academy Trampoline Dodgeball Tournament - event organised by Sandhurst cadets to raise
money for the Foundation.
June 2014
London Nightrider - eight of our supporters cycled the London Nightrider, raising some £3,000 for the
Foundation.
24 April 2014
Oxford Brookes Real Estate dinner – raffle
March 2014
Fundraising Dinner at Charterhouse school for Upper 6th students, organised by Daniel Federer and
Lily Martin.
If you would like to organise a fundraising event for the Foundation, undertake a challenge or
attend an event, please contact us. We can assist with marketing, as well as give you access to a
number of suppliers who have pledged support to the Foundation. Our Just Giving page provides
an easy platform to manage your event, and it can be advertised via our Facebook page.
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Helpers and other support
We are immensely grateful to all those who have helped us in the past year, from advising us,
organising events and giving media access. With all of this comes the slightly less glamorous but
vital tasks. We are particularly indebted to Stefano Arata, our indefatigable designer, has helped
us in a thousand ways. If you would like to get involved, please do get in touch.
A number of companies have donated services to the Foundation as their way of supporting us,
and this has been very much appreciated, allowing us to keep our expenses and operating costs to
an absolute minimum.
DONATING
We have made suggestions on page 2 of ways to donate: in addition Regular monthly giving is
a huge asset to the Foundation. Alternatively you might think of becoming a Friend of the
Foundation, allowing you to support us and receive details of events and invitations to our
annual Christmas and summer parties.
CONTACT US
Telephone: 020 8693 2254/07789 765 867
Website:
www.markevisonfoundation.org
Post:
PO Box 59519, London SE21 9AL
[email protected] (for enquiries, fundraising, events, donations)
We would always love to hear from you, especially with any ideas or feedback you might have, to
help us ensure the Mark Evison Foundation keeps going from strength to strength. Together we
can ensure that Mark’s values live on through the lives of others.
Thank you for your ongoing support.
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