Citypress announces pro bono partnership with the Helena Kennedy Foundation

Citypress, a leading employee-owned communications agency, has begun a long-term pro bono partnership with the Helena Kennedy Foundation, the education and social justice charity that has spent nearly three decades supporting disadvantaged students into higher education.

The Foundation was established in 1998 in response to Baroness Helena Kennedy KC’s landmark Learning Works report, which set out the case for widening participation in further and higher education. The charity provides financial bursaries and ongoing pastoral support to students from further and adult education colleges across the UK who face significant barriers to higher education, including financial hardship, caring responsibilities, refugee status and disability.

Demand for its bursaries has grown sharply in recent years and now significantly outstrips the funding available. As the Foundation approaches its thirtieth anniversary in 2028, it is using the milestone to broaden its donor base and close that gap, supporting more of the students who meet the bursary criteria each year.

Citypress will support the Foundation over the coming year and beyond, with a programme of earned media activity designed to raise the Foundation’s external profile and reach new audiences of potential supporters. This includes amplifying the Foundation’s flagship annual event at the House of Lords, hosted by Baroness Kennedy, which celebrates the achievements of that year’s bursary winners and brings them together with the trustees, donors and supporters who have made their journey possible.

The partnership is being delivered through Citypress Gives, the agency’s pro bono arm, which commits 1% of agency time each year to organisations whose mission aligns with the agency’s own.

Sophie Millward, Director at Citypress, said: “For every student the Helena Kennedy Foundation funds, several more meet the criteria and go unsupported, and that gap is the one we want to help narrow. The Foundation’s mission also aligns directly with our own commitment to widening access to a career in communications, which made this an obvious partnership for us to pursue.”

Mark Cooper, Chair of Trustees, Helena Kennedy Foundation, added: “We’re incredibly grateful to Citypress for their support and excited to be working together. Every year, we see talented and determined students overcome significant barriers to pursue higher education, but we know there are many more who need support than we currently have the resources to help. Raising awareness of our work is an important part of changing that, and we look forward to working with the Citypress team to reach new audiences and grow our impact.”