Spark Inside has published its Annual Report and Accounts 2019/20. We’ve shared our achievements, challenges, and successes, and our CEO Vicki Cardwell reflects on her first year in post, after joining us in January.
Vicki said:
“I am committed to this period of growth and to advocating for coaching and rehabilitation, and I’m deeply proud of the work the team has put into developing the in-prison advisory boards, which will inform all of our strategic decisions. The people with lived experience will guide us in what will be a new world post-COVID-19, but a world in which our coaching programmes will be more important than ever.”
Click here to read the report.
Our key highlights during this year include:
- We delivered 27 Hero’s Journey™ programmes in five establishments
- We successfully piloted an adapted version of our life coaching programme: Hero’s Journey™ from a Black Perspective. The programme was co-designed with young black men with lived experience of prison.
- We secured the Lincolnshire Action Trust as our first partner to pilot Hero’s Journey™ as part of our UK expansion.
- We published the Hero’s Journey™ Impact Report 2016 – 2019, which shows that across the three years, Spark Inside has made a clear, positive impact on the lives of over 350 young men in prison.
- We piloted in-prison advisory boards, allowing young people in prison to voice their opinions and shape our strategy, delivery and campaigns.
- Our CEO Vicki Cardwell made Spark Inside’s first live television appearance as a panel expert making the case for rehabilitation on BBC Ones’ The Big Questions, generating media interest and social media engagement.
- We responded quickly and innovatively to the Covid-19 lockdown, staying connected with people in prison and ensuring the young people we coach knew we had not forgotten about them. We also developed a programme to coach prison officers virtually, to support these front line workers during one of the most difficult times in their careers.
Vicki said:
“I want to thank our supporters, funders and partners who continue to believe in our work, allowing us to increase our reach and impact – including for the first time ever, outside of London. Inspired by people around me at Spark Inside, in prisons and across the criminal justice system, I look forward to being an advocate and to playing a part in creating some meaningful change.”
