Commit to Change
The world's local bank- USA – Higher education support for students
- France – HSBC Education Foundation
- Korea – Island Watch for a Future Generation
- Malaysia – Reading and Writing Programme
- UK – Thriftwood school
- New Zealand – The Gifted Kids Programme
- China – Rural teacher training course
- UK – Kielder Challenge
- Singapore – Youth Excellence Initiative
- Australia – HSBCkids
- UK and Korea – Outward Bound
- USA – Boys & Girls Clubs of America
- Global – Future First: Investing in our children
- UK – On-line mathematics
- South Africa – Disadvantaged schools
- Brazil – HSBC Solidarity Institute
- USA – Jumpstart
- Thailand – HSBC children's book
- UK – Tall Ships Youth Trust
- China and Hong Kong – Mainland/Hong Kong Exchange Programme in Special Education
- Malta and the UK – Eco-Schools
- UK – HSBC scholars
- India – Madhapur Mandal school
- UK – School governors
- Hong Kong, China, and Brazil – Zippy's Friends
- USA and UK – Teach for America/Teach First
- Canada – York University scholarship fund
- UK – Sailing Academies
- China – Soaring under the sun
- China – HSBC China Charity Federation Fund
UK – Kielder Challenge
Launched in 1985, the Kielder Challenge competition gets disabled and non-disabled children working together to compete as a team.
Each member of the eight-strong team, which must include at least two wheelchair users, needs to recognise and utilise the strengths of the other team members in order to work together to solve problems such as negotiating a woodland rope maze. Heats across the UK culminate in a national final in the Kielder Forest in Northumberland.
HSBC has been supporting the Kielder Challenge since 2001 and staff members also get involved by helping to run the local, regional and national competitions. In 2006, 60 HSBC volunteers gave their time to this enriching opportunity and in 2007 around 200 will participate. The words of one volunteer sum up the many magical aspects of this experience:
'It was a truly uplifting experience upon which I will continue to reflect for some time. The kids are fantastic, I am sure every one of them got something very special, and hopefully enduring, from the experience. It is not an exaggeration to say that for many young people (and for the adult volunteers) this is a life-changing experience.'
The competition enables disabled children to visit places and achieve things that may not normally be accessible to them. Teachers and carers often comment on how moving it is to see what some young people can achieve if given the chance. The programme also has a valuable role in allowing non-disabled children to integrate with and understand the barriers faced by their disabled peers. This helps all the young participants to recognise that everyone can play a full part in life. One child commented:
'Before the Kielder Challenge I didn't know any disabled people. Now I realise that they are really just the same as the rest of us.'
The Kielder Challenge is a unique project designed to increase the confidence, life chances and inclusion of disabled young people. Since HSBC began its partnership with the Kielder Challenge, participation has grown from less than 500 students per year to nearly 2,000.
If you'd like to enter a team or volunteer, visit www.fieldfare.org.uk/kielder-challenge.htm.
