Our Legacy
Before Connect to Purpose was formally established in 2020, our three trustees were already deeply engaged in education and family support. Drawing on decades of frontline experience in schools, we recognised the vital role of parents in shaping the lives of children and young people. Our aim has always been to catalyse transformation by empowering those who influence children most - parents and teachers - equipping them with the tools, confidence, and relational support to nurture resilience and wellbeing. This foundation of practice and belief laid the groundwork for Connect to Purpose, and continues to shape our mission today.
Connect to Purpose is also built on the vision and pioneering work of the late Alan Wilson, founder of Develop Your Child CIC (2002) and the charity Every Family Matters (2005), who championed whole‑family coaching that transformed lives and inspired innovative programmes such as Parent Champions and the Family Coaching Cafe. Sir John Whitmore, founder of the GROW model, became patron and later Chair. In 2011, Georgina joined as trustee and then later as a director of Develop Your Child because of the deep synergy between Alan’s relational, coaching‑based philosophy and our own frontline work in schools for disadvantaged young people. After the success of early small grants, EFM secured a two‑year £76,000 Reaching Communities project in 2011, praised in an evaluation by Canterbury Christ Church University.
Alan authored I Don’t Know You Anymore – 7 Steps to Reconnect with Your Teenager, reflecting his emphasis on relationships over behaviour management. His approach was a unique and powerful combination of mindfulness, life coaching and emotional literacy techniques, underpinned by neuroscience and was ahead of its time. Alan’s unexpected death in November 2020 was a profound turning point and deepened our resolve to continue his legacy. Today, Connect to Purpose carries forward the core values of personal development for young people and the vital partnership of working alongside their family, school and local community.
Here are some of the parents who took part in the Parent Champion programme, including Kate who took part in the pilot at the school, which was start of our family outreach systemic approach to support students. We thank them for their time and invaluable contributions.
We met with nine participants five years after they had completed Parent Champions, and each one reported that the benefits of the course were still shaping their lives: they had sustained stronger relationships with their children, felt happier as families and as individuals, and described lasting improvements in their own wellbeing and future prospects.