Joe

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£5

Provides life-changing support, opening doors to education, inclusion, and opportunity for the young people who need it most.

£10

Allows us to provide a young person with learning disabilities their first experience of a fun and inclusive social club.

£20

Enables us to provide food for young people during our sessions, giving them access to a balanced diet.

£30

Ensures a young person can travel to our Alternative Learning Hub to access their education.

£50

Provides a week of sports activities for a young person, helping them to build confidence and friendships.

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In a city as prosperous as Bath, the gap between those who thrive and those who struggle is vast. Behind that divide stands Bath Rugby Foundation - and young people like Joe.

Joe arrived at our doors aged 15. Life had already been brutally hard. He grew up amidst instability, bouncing between parents, both battling drug dependence. School felt impossible; support systems had vanished; he was isolated, angry, exhausted, and carrying responsibilities no child should. As a young carer for his dad, life revolved around survival, not opportunity.

He was on the edge of slipping into the only route he thought was open to him - petty theft and the family trade of dealing. As he put it himself, he could “run a packet across town for £50”. Quick money. Dangerous future.

But Joe made a different choice: he walked through our door.

At Bath Rugby Foundation, we started where we always do - with trust. Through small-group teaching, one-to-one support and trauma-informed mentoring, his walls began to lower. We learnt what made him light up: engines, bikes, fixing things. We listened. We showed up. Every day.

He told us his mum couldn’t afford his bus fare, so attending wasn’t always possible. Together, we made a plan. Joe started working behind the bar at Bath Rugby matchdays - legitimate earnings that replaced the pull of quick, risky cash.

With his wages, he bought a bike in parts and built his own electric bike from scratch. Suddenly he had independence. Free travel. Pride. He now rides 20 miles a day, in all weather, and hasn’t missed a session since.

We noticed his only shoes were taped together. Quietly, with support from our Sponsor our Students and a Christmas voucher, he bought new trainers. A small grant - just £40 - but for Joe, it meant dignity.

Then came the moment he realised something extraordinary: people tried to steal his bike. And for the first time in his life, he owned something of value - something he built, something he cared about, something worth protecting. He’s now saving for a proper lock.

Nearly a year on, Joe is thriving. He’s preparing for his exams in May, travelling independently, and applying for a Motor Vehicle Mechanics course. He spends his spare time helping others fix their bikes. He is learning. Working. Believing in his future.

His journey isn’t perfect. It isn’t easy. But it is moving forward - and crucially, it is his.

A place at our Alternative Learning Hub costs around £20,000 per year. Leaving a young person unsupported can cost the state more than £120,000 a year. But the real cost is far deeper - wasted potential, lost futures, broken cycles.

Joe’s story is still being written. With your help, it can continue in the right direction - and so can the stories of hundreds more young people who arrive when every other door has closed.