On January 22, 2025, Inspire hosted its annual Supporters Network Celebration Event, a night filled with joy, reflection, and gratitude. The event was a resounding success, celebrating the collective achievement of supporting 25,000 young people over the past year.

The evening was marked by the presentation of awards to deserving individuals and organizations, recognizing their invaluable contributions. The event was made even more special thanks to our partners at Lendlease, who provided a brilliant venue and catering, and Vita Coco, who delighted attendees with fabulous coconut refreshments.

Our Chair of Trustees, Sug Sahadevan, spoke about Inspire’s history and successful merger.  CEO, Shereen El Shennawy, spoke about the importance of our work to individual young people and shared her personal story of how interactions with Inspire (then Connexions) kickstarted her journey into higher education, and subsequently her career today.   Hannah Constantine (Smiths Group and Chair of the Smiths Group Foundation), spoke about the challenges and opportunities of setting up a charitable trust and their experience as a new partner of Inspire.  Jonathan Tait (Senior Corporate Responsibility Advisor from Linklaters), spoke about our longstanding partnership with Linklaters spanning 20 years, and how, together, we have achieved incredible impact for young people that would not have been possible working in silos.

We heard from 2 of our 2025 Youth Board members, Mysha and Zenha, whose inspirational words truly captured the essence of our mission.  They explained the role of the Youth Board, it’s mission and remit. Young people are truly at the heart of all we do. 

We were so pleased to be able to celebrate outstanding individuals who host our work experience students, as well as individual volunteers who work directly with young people through our programmes. A special award went out to the Charities Aid Foundation, who have connected us with a number of funding opportunities this year.  

The networking session was a highlight of the evening, with many attendees connecting over our shared goal of empowering young people. The support and engagement from our community are vital to our success, and we are grateful to have such dedicated supporters as part of the Inspire family.

As we reflect on this special day, we are reminded that our work is far from over. We remain committed to creating opportunities for young people through funding programs, volunteering, fundraising, and pro-bono support. We invite anyone interested in further supporting our mission to reach out and explore how we can collaborate to make an even greater impact.

Thank you to everyone who was part of this memorable event or has supported us over the years. We look forward to continuing our journey together.

Shereen El-Shennawy, CEO Inspire