Helping The Whitgift Foundation share stories from the people of Croydon.

The Whitgift Foundation is a registered charity with the aim of providing education for the young and care for the elderly in Croydon and the surrounding areas. Established in 1596 by the former Archbishop of Canterbury John Whitgift, The Whitgift Foundation is made up of three independent schools, Whitgift Care and The Carers’ Information Service.

The Foundation grants £5 million annually to 46% of Croydon's 3,200 students to receive financial support with school fees and promote social mobility. 100 older people live in Whitgift Care homes with a further 100 spaces open to the Day Care service, 1596 Club. Last year, 25,000 enquiries were received from carers at the Carers Support Centre. The Foundation currently employs over 1,000 people in education, care and carer support jobs. 

The Whitgift Foundation is an organisation we feel privileged to work with—we truly believe in the work that they do, always striving to improve people's lives. So needless to say, it was very exciting for us to be part of this particular project. We art directed the print and digital aspects of the campaign and helped to develop the creative concept, whilst also handling the graphic design and typography throughout.

Today marks the launch of the #HelpingCroydon campaign. It's objective is to raise awareness of the charity's work by showcasing how it helps thousands of people across Croydon every day. The Foundation helps people of all ages and backgrounds through its schools and care services. The campaign runs across print and digital adverts, editorial, social media and a video produced by Affixxius Films.

The campaign tells stories of individual people the Foundation would typically help or support. The video shows that these people could all be waiting at a tram stop, not knowing just how much the Foundation has helped the person standing next to them. The line that runs throughout the campaign is "We’re here to help. More often than you think." Suggesting the charity is helping the people of Croydon and you probably don't realise just how much.

As this campaign focuses on individual people, we thought it would be nice to look a little deeper into some of their individual stories. Here are three people who feature across the campaign—Charlie who's a student at Whitgift School, Dawn who cares for a family member and Kathy who's a nurse at Whitgift Care.

The Whitgift Foundation has been a strong support to Charlie and his family. Coming from a lone parent background, his mother was finding it hard to make ends meet financially, but The Whitgift Foundation was able to help by offering the family a full bursary. Like the other 1,500 Whitgift Foundation students, Charlie attends Whitgift School with fee assistance. He enjoys athletics and recently took part in winning the ISFA U15 Nationals. Charlie has bright ambitions for the future, with plans to study medicine and become a doctor in Sports Medicine.

Dawn, a 62 year old Croydon local, came to the Carers Support Centre for help after she took on caring for her husband full time who has type 2 diabetes and suffers from osteoarthritis. Dawn met with the friendly Advice Worker at the Carers Support Centre who listened carefully to her needs and offered the different services available to both Dawn and her husband. With a referral to Whitgift Care, Dawn could receive respite care and ease the pressure from looking after her husband. She is also able to enjoy the free services at the Centre to socialise with other carers, particularly the Carers Choir that takes place every fortnight. 

Kathy has been a Senior Nurse at Whitgift Care for ten years. She specialises in end of life care and has been on the Gold Standard framework training course to give the highest standard of care to her residents. On a typical day, Kathy ensures residents see a GP regularly, making sure they are given the correct medication and care to promote their wellbeing. Life as a nurse can be both challenging and rewarding. Kathy builds trusted relationships with residents and relatives, updating loved ones on residents’ progression and needs regularly. As the care home provides 24-hour care, there are always challenges to overcome or a need to take care of, whether that is liaising with a GP, or sitting with an unwell resident in the middle of the night; but the staff work together to maintain the smooth running of the Home. Kathy says: “It is comforting to know there is always someone close by to help or gain support from.”