12th November 2020
“I can barely begin to explain how much this grant has benefitted me. We have been through such hardship and loss, yet I have been able to achieve things that I never believed I could, simply due to the generosity of Cumbria Community Foundation.”
Abbie* was incredibly grateful to receive a grant from the Cumbria Young People’s Fund and the Johnson Fund at a time when her mum had received a sudden terminal cancer diagnosis and her dad gave up work to care for her. The family were facing financial hardship just as Abbie started studying Veterinary Medicine at University. The grant supported her first year living costs and her first laptop.
Abbie said: “COVID-19 meant that I had to return home to protect my mum’s health in the time that we had left. It also meant that I had to study and take my exams online. My laptop became both my lecture theatre and my exam hall and with a tremendous amount of work, I was thrilled to hear that I had excelled in my exams.
“During my first year, I entered a veterinary science competition and as I placed academically in the top 5 students on my course, I was transferred on to my dream course so that could train to be a veterinary surgeon.
“Over the next 5 years I will work tirelessly to qualify as a vet so that I might one day head back into the community to work alongside and to help the people that allowed me to reach this point. Unfortunately, I lost my mum just after my exams and so she was unable to hear my good news however I know just how proud she was of my achievements and without this grant, I may never have made it.”
Name has been changed*