At the heart of our partnerships programme is a determination to enact positive change; for the remarkable organisations we work with and in our boys. Measuring change cannot be done through statistics alone. For our Voices: Partnerships Impact Report 22/23 we used a framework of data capture based on the Most Significant Change Technique. We asked our partnership community and our boys about their experiences. These conversations were transcribed and shared without editing, capturing true voices.
Ambrose, 6.1, Radley College, shares his partnership story.
It all started in autumn when me and my Dad had a conversation about the cost of living crisis. My Dad was talking to me about an article he’d read (he tends to bore me a lot with that kind of stuff!), but we got into a deep conversation. Here we are preparing for Christmas while people on the other side of Oxford don’t even have a coat to throw on. We have way too many clothes, and a bunch of other Radley boys are probably in the same situation. I thought that with the help of the whole school we could do something that would make an impact.
We did a first attempt and got 247 coats, blankets and duvets for three homeless shelters. It was a good start but I felt I could push it further and we increased donations to over 500! We are in Radley’s unique bubble, in the higher tier of wealth, so taking a step out of that made me far more aware of the real world, and how one person can make an impact. It’s clear that I’m not going to solve homelessness in the world, not even in Oxford. I’m hoping this is a first step and that this project I created could inspire others to act.
It made me more grateful for what I have and also made me think of how much more pleasure people get out of giving instead of receiving. It’s easy to take for granted what we have, but I think from this experience I’ve gained greater awareness of the challenges whichare only a few miles away down the road. The three homeless shelters were so grateful, but they need more. I plan to take it further in the future. If people took just small steps – they are very small steps – they will make an impact.
