On Thursday 7 July 2016 the following benefactors were admitted to the College of Benefactors during Graduation. We thank all of these donors for their exceptional support for the University of Reading and welcome them to the College of Benefactors.
Santander Universities UK
The Santander Universities division supports and manages Santander's commitment to higher education. This is a long-term, strategic alliance with universities that is beneficial to students and staff and the communities where Santander has a presence.
Since 2012 Santander Universities UK has been working with the University of Reading to support Academic Achievement Scholarships for students from Latin America, funded the Reading University Boat Club rowers to train at an elite training camp in Spain, and donated to a business start-up boot camp for entrepreneurial students and graduates with big business ideas. Santander Universities UK also supports the Reading Internship Scheme which has helped many of our students gain valuable work experience in start-up organisations, small companies and charities in our region.
We are delighted to confirm that Santander Universities UK have recently renewed their philanthropic agreement with the University, further cementing this very successful relationship into the future.
The Charlie Waller Memorial Trust
The Charlie Waller Memorial Trust was set up in 1997 in memory of Charlie Waller, a young man who took his own life whilst suffering from depression. Shortly after his death, his family founded the Trust in order to educate young people on the importance of staying mentally well and how to do so.
Over the years the Trust has grown into an independent charity that works with partners in the health service, education and the private sector across the country.
Funding from the Charlie Waller Memorial Trust has helped develop and increase provision of Brief Behavioural Activation (Brief BA) Therapy. A pioneering new talking therapy for young people with low mood, adapted from an effective treatment used with adults. Designed to be simple both for young people and for therapists it involves only a small number of behavioural techniques. With additional funding raised by the University of Reading this work will now enable specially trained Brief Behavioural Activation clinicians to visit local schools to identify those at risk from mental health issues. Once identified, Brief Behavioural Activation can help give them the tools for positive mental health.
The Trust's annual grant to support the Chair at the Charlie Waller Institute continues to deliver significant benefits in research, training and related areas.
Cushman & Wakefield
Cushman & Wakefield are a leading global real estate services firm that helps clients transform the way people work, shop and live. As Corporate Patrons they have supported and continue to support the Reading Real Estate Foundation's (RREF) core activities, which include the award of bursaries and hardship funds to Real Estate & Planning students within Henley Business School at the University of Reading. The company also promotes the Foundation's mentoring scheme and career development activities, including the Access Internships scheme. Furthermore, Cushman & Wakefield are supporters of Pathways to Property, a RREF initiative aimed at widening participation in the Real Estate sector.
Much of RREF's work is aimed at strengthening the links between Real Estate & Planning at the University of Reading, its graduates and the wider industry to help support and develop the quality of real estate education at the University of Reading; and to help maintain its position and raise awareness worldwide as a centre of excellence for real estate education and research. Cushman & Wakefield's long standing relationship with RREF and the University of Reading is key in promoting the delivery of these aims.
In 2015 Cushman & Wakefield merged with DTZ, already a committed supporter of RREF and the University of Reading. The new Cushman & Wakefield draws on the best of both legacy organizations to create one of the world's largest real estate services firms and now operates in more than 60 countries around the world.
