ABOUT US

Our Mission

To work collaboratively with vulnerable young people aged 11-18 years old who are disengaged in education.

Our mission is to build positive paths for young people facing challenges in their lives by creating a support network that enables them to feel safe, feel heard and feel like they belong. By connecting young people with mentors and community resources, we aim to improve their wellbeing, increase engagement in education and reduce the number of school exclusions.

We want young people to be told

‘YES YOU CAN'

to help set them on a path to reach their fullest potential.

“I believe that there is such incredible potential that is at risk of being missed if children with the most deprived and disadvantaged backgrounds do not get the inspiration that I found. Just how many stars can we help to shine?”.

Dr Zoe Willams, Co-founder

Our Story

The idea behind Active Link, started several years ago after Dr Zoe was asked to give a talk at a school sports awards event, in a deprived area of London, alongside some male sporting role models.

A 5-minute speech resulted in a flurry of girls asking to start a rugby team, and other students asking their teachers what they needed to do to go to university. Dr Zoe’s background resonated with them, and the impact was powerful.

By seeing the appetite for physical activity and high aspirations, but aware of the gaps in social equality, Dr Zoe wanted to reach out and do more. Dr Zoe and Dawn joined forces a few years later and Active Link was born.

With Dr Zoe’s passion for the positive benefits physical activity provides, experience of growing up and facing obstacles to being told by teachers that becoming a doctor might not be the right carer path, coupled Dawn’s background in developing award winning behaviour change interventions along with the tragic events that led to Dawn’s nephew being excluded from school, the powerful movement derived from a deep understanding and an immense passion to make a real difference.

We want to change the narrative for as many young people as humanly possible.

Our Team

As a team we are united in the belief that behind every negative and challenging behaviour is a need, and that by identifying and meeting that need, we can change the narratives for the young people we engage.