This term we shall be holding our first ever Cranleigh Foundation Week from 7-13 March. It will be a profile-raising campaign, using digital communications to showcase the great work the Cranleigh Foundation does in School and to raise its profile in the wider community.
The Cranleigh Foundation was set up in 2007 to raise money for the School. In 2017, the board of trustees decided to simplify the objective of the Foundation to focus on funding places for children affected by tragedy. Since 2011, there have been 13 Foundationers at Cranleigh.
Susannah Schofield (pictured) joined the School in 2018 as Head of Cranleigh Giving as part of the School’s long-term strategy of encouraging the Cranleighan community to think beyond themselves and to consider how they will share their resources, time and expertise.
One of Susie’s first steps was to launch Cranleigh Friends, a group to embrace the entire Cranleigh community to include parents of former pupils, former staff and Old Cranleighans, as well as current parents, governors and staff. Cranleigh Friends hosts social and charity events so that the wider community could stay in touch with and support Cranleigh.
In addition to engaging the Cranleigh community, part of Susie’s remit is to raise money for the Cranleigh Foundation. However, as she explains, ‘it became clear that the Foundation had been hiding its light under a bushel so my first task was to raise awareness of its work and scope’. Susie quickly put in place a plan of communications, events and activities.
Then the pandemic struck. Events were cancelled, remote learning and working began and the original Cranleigh Giving plan stalled.
Undeterred, as we emerge from the latest stage of the pandemic, Susie decided ‘to use this time to tell the story about the Cranleigh Foundation. Running the Cranleigh Foundation Week gives us the opportunity to shine a spotlight on the Foundation and its work’.
So during the week of 7 March, please join us on our social media channels and visit this dedicated blog to see videos, articles, profiles and insider-details about what goes on behind the scenes to support the Foundation and our Foundationer pupils.