Support young adult carers by donating to the Young Adult Carers' Fund
Some young people have family caring responsibilities that make it difficult for them to attend university. These students may feel guilty about moving away from the family member they care for, and may miss out on valuable study time and campus based experiences to travel home more frequently. Many have taken on adult responsibilities from a young age, and don't have a network of adults from whom to seek advice.
At Kingston KU Cares, we work hard to give our students the best chance to succeed, whilst meeting their caring responsibilities. We provide an additional Young Adult Carer bursary to meet the increased costs of their caring responsibilities, such as travel, and provide support for them as part of the KU Cares programme.
How you can help
By making a donation to the Young Adult Carers' Bursary Fund, you will support Kingston students who have additional caring responsibilities and help them succeed at university.
Emily's journey to Kingston
We're proud to support young adult carers at Kingston and we do all we can to ensure that they can thrive at university.
Your donation and support of our travel bursaries can make a transformative difference to students like Emily.
Watch the video to hear Emily's story and to find out how KU Cares helped her secure a place to study at Kingston.
I care for both my mum and brother. My brother has Asperger's and physical difficulties. My mum has mild depression and hoarding disorders. My caring involves me having to be a social aid for my brother and having to be the "mum" with the chores and organising. I always wanted to be a nurse because my mum was one! However, going to university was never on my mind as I had a lot of difficulties in school.
When I eventually applied to uni, I ticked the 'Young carer' box on the application form, and was contacted by the KU Cares team to discuss my caring circumstances. They helped me so much to access university after I was initially rejected and sent into Clearing.
The Admissions department weren't aware of my caring circumstances and how that had affected my college study, but with the advocacy of KU Cares I was eventually offered a place. KU Cares also told me about the £500 Young Adult Carer bursary, which has helped me to travel home more frequently to visit my family.
I also attended Head Start, which is a three-day residential Summer School which helps new students transition into university life. Through this scheme, I have met so many friends and it definitely helped me to settle into university. I have also become a student ambassador, working on outreach projects with local schools.
Emily
Any questions?
Please do get in touch if you have any queries about making a donation to Kingston University.
Call us on: +44 (0) 20 8419 3299
Email us at development@kingston.ac.uk
Development, Alumni Relations and Engagement
Second Floor, Main Building
Kingston University,
Penrhyn Road,
Kingston upon Thames,
Surrey, KT1 2EE
