One degree More launch 

Community Foundation launches innovative educational campaign

 

The Community Foundation for Wiltshire & Swindon, an organisation that links up individuals and companies looking to make charitable donations with groups and individuals in need of financial support, has today launched an innovative campaign to support young people whose home circumstances prevent them from going to university.

The campaign, One Degree More, aims to raise £5 million which will enable The Community Foundation for Wiltshire & Swindon to support 30 young people in the area to realise their dream of going to university each year.

The premise of the campaign is that by denying the opportunity of higher education to a talented student we could be denying the world a significant potential invention, discovery, cure or work of art in the future.

Rosemary Macdonald, The Community Foundation's chief executive, explains: “There are several factors that may prevent an academically-gifted student from going on to university; perhaps they care for a parents, work to support younger siblings, or come from a low income family. The message behind the campaign is that personal circumstances should not prevent a student from reaching their full potential.

“It's not just the individual student that benefits from their time at university; if Marie Curie hadn't had the opportunity to go on to university, we might not have radiation therapy technology, which is now used to treat cancer throughout the world. If Sir Isaac Newton hadn't been able to go to university, our understanding of the planet we live on might be significantly different. Who knows what these students might go on to achieve if we give them the opportunity to fulfil their potential?”

The One Degree More campaign is based on The Community Foundation for Wiltshire & Swindon's existing Shuker fund; a sum of money left to the Foundation by philanthropists Brian and Mari Shuker.

 

Mr and Mrs Shuker specified that the money they left to the Foundation should be used to provide financial assistance to young people from West Wiltshire wishing to attend university.

 

In response to the success of the scholarship scheme, and the difference it has made to the lives of many talented young students, the Foundation is now keen to expand the fund through its One Degree More campaign, making the scholarships available to students throughout the whole of Wiltshire and Swindon.

For more information about the campaign visit their website  via the link below or call The Community Foundation on: 01380 729284.