My name is Claire Cotton and I am trying to raise £10,000 to give my son Jack, who has Down Syndrome, the opportunity to experience 'University Life' like any other young man of 18 years of age.  Unfortunately, college fees are upwards of £41,500 per year, of which our local authority will fund a percentage of, leaving a shortfall each year.  Derwen is a residential College that offers Further Education, Work Experience, Life Skills and many Social Opportunities and Experiences which can not be replicated within our local authority.

As Jack's mum I believe he deserves this opportunity to blossom and grow, mixing with other young people age 19-25, exploring some independence within a safe environment.  Derwen College will give Jack the chance to gain 3 years work experience with the potential of securing employment locally on his return with companies such as Premier Inn, Tesco, Co-op and British Heart Foundation, to name a few who all support this college.  Jack will be home regularly during school holidays.

As a family we hope to see a huge difference in Jack's ability within his first term at Derwen College as he takes the steps to become more independent, maturing into a very able young man who can make a contribution to a work place locally as opposed to spending hours each week within our local community accompanied by a support worker attending some local adult services where the age range can be 19-60!!  

The monies will be spent over the next 3 years to 'top up' local authority funding as there is a shortfall to be met.  Should we exceed our target then it would be our hope to use any left over monies to support/sponsor another young person like Jack facing similar challenges in securing a fantastic Further Education opportunity, we believe this should be the Gold Standard Further Education opportunity for any young person with learning difficulties.

This would mean so much to Jack to enhance his future quality of life whilst securing aspirations and making dreams come true, for that we would be truly thankful.