The Snowdon Trust - a Southwater based charity

The Snowdon Trust is a Southwater based charity which provides grants to help people living with a range of disabilities fulfil their potential in education and vocational training. Around 100 grants are awarded each year, ranging from £250 to £5,000. They help cover disability-related study costs which statutory funding often doesn’t cover, such as sign-language interpreters, specialist software and wheelchairs. The charity was founded in 1981 by the First Earl of Snowdon. As a child, Lord Snowdon contracted polio and therefore understood the challenges faced by disabled people. He went on to campaign determinedly for disabled people’s rights. In 1981, he founded the charity with a sum of £14,000 which he had accumulated from taking photos of the royal family while married to Princess Margaret. The charity has gone on to provide grants totalling over £3.5 million and has helped around 2,500 people gain qualifications and futures they may not have otherwise achieved.

Nikki, the Fundraising Manager for the Snowdon Trust, shares her own experience of the importance of the work that the Snowdon Trust does:

“Hi, my name is Nikki, I live and work in Southwater. I’ve broken down many barriers in my life to get where I am today, and I want to ensure no other disabled person goes through what I have. From a young age, people were encouraging me to aim lower and abandon my dreams of going to university. I was determined to prove them wrong. I got there, but it was tough finding solutions to help me get the most from my course, and I wouldn’t have managed without support from a brilliant disability advisor. But not everyone is that lucky. If I’d known about the Snowdon Trust then, I would have been able to apply for a grant to access more support and join a community that saw past my disabilities and believed in my potential.

Now, I’m the Fundraising Manager for the Snowdon Trust. I’m raising money to provide grants for disabled students, and working to increase awareness of the challenges they face, and how with some investment and support, their ambitions can become reality.

If you believe in our cause and are able to donate, please go to www.snowdontrust.org/ or call Nikki on 01403 732899 or email Nikki@snowdontrust.org. 100% of your donation will help break down barriers faced by disabled students on their journey to employment.”