Jane Wright, * who used to be a West End actress, was forced to give up her career on the stage after being diagnosed with an unexpected illness. The 36-year-old, who is passionate about history, was disappointed she couldn’t carry on doing something she loved.
Jane explored new career options and found the London Blue Badge Tourist Guide Course. This enabled her to combine her skills as an actress with her passion and knowledge of London’s famous landmarks.
The budding tourist guide saw an advert for our Springboard Fund and did not hesitate to apply. Once she had submitted her ‘easy and straightforward’ application, Jane was invited to meet our friendly panel to set out her plans.
“It was really enjoyable to speak with the panel, share my vision and I was touched by how excited they were for me and my future,” added Jane, who will be able to work as a freelancer around her health needs once she has completed the course. She adds: “They couldn't have been more supportive!”
Jane impressed the panel and successfully secured funding for the two-year course, which internationally is considered the gold standard in tourist guiding in the UK.
She concluded: “I couldn't be more grateful for this funding. Without it I wouldn’t have been able to do this course. It is literally life changing for me. It can be very frustrating to have avenues blocked off to you due to lack of money so with funding like this, a whole new world of opportunities can open up!"
*The name has been changed to protect the customer’s identity
The next round of our Springboard Fund is open!
The next round of the Springboard Fund is now open for A2Dominion customers. It provides individual grants of between £500 and £5,000 to support with direct costs for education, qualifications or training. Find out more.