<div><strong>My friends, my family, my communities, brothers and sisters and elders, if you feel moved by what follows, I need your support…</strong>
</div>
<div class="youtube-replace"><br />
</div><iframe media_type="0" media_id="8XvLgxBiNtk" class="youtube-replace" title="YouTube video player" style="margin-bottom:20px;width:560px;height:315px;" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/8XvLgxBiNtk/?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="1"></iframe>
<div class="youtube-replace"><br />
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>I’ve been offered a place on a three-year part-time program in London to train as a counsellor and psychotherapist starting this November. This feels like a life-changing opportunity, not only for me but for those I hope to serve.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Supporting my training means investing in a therapist who can stand with those who are under-witnessed: queer, biracial, and intersectional people whose stories deserve a place of deep recognition.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Healing has been my true north. My life has been a baptism of fire – an initiation that has shaped me for this path. If you know me, you know that I’ve weathered storms, and I’m learning to celebrate them as opportunities, even as gifts.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Now, I am called to transform another wound: the difficulty of being witnessed while asking for help.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>My Story </strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>My name is Cole. I am the living convergence of colonisation on both my mother’s and father’s sides. I am the son of a Welsh farming family and the grandson of "<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3w4q1ee1p4o" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Windrushers</a>" who arrived in Britain from Dominica in the 1950s.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>I am also gay, and endured years of bullying in secondary school because of it. I was raised in a single-parent household in the poorest borough of London. As a biracial queer man, I know what it is to be “othered.” And yet these intersections, though painful, have shaped me in profound and beautiful ways.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Therapy has been transformative in my life. It has helped me make meaning from my experiences, heal my wounds, and begin to understand the impact of my childhood. Friends and mentors have long reflected that I would make an excellent therapist. I’ve seen glimpses of that: teaching restorative yoga, mentoring queer teens, answering calls at Samaritans, and working in nonprofits. Holding space for healing and rites of passage feels like a natural next step.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>Why This is Bigger than Me</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>The programme I’ve been accepted to, <a href="https://www.re-vision.org.uk/training-introduction/bacp-accredited-counselling-training/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Re-Vision</a> in London, is unlike any other. Its approach is soul-centred, integrative, and deeply attuned to the precarious times we are living in. I attended their four-day introductory ‘<a href="https://www.re-vision.org.uk/transitions/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Transitions</a>’ course.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>I was the only Black aspirant in a group of around twenty.
</div>
<div>Representation matters. <a href="https://www.psychotherapy.org.uk/media/2dfb1l55/2023-ukcp-member-survey-report.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">According to the UKCP</a>, only 2.8% of counsellors and psychotherapists in a member survey, identified as Black. Mental health challenges disproportionately affect ethnic minorities and LGBTQ+ communities, yet we face systemic barriers to accessing equitable care.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>This is why my presence, and the presence of others like me, matters in therapy rooms. We need more therapists who understand the intersections of race, sexuality, class, neurodivergence, and lived experience.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>And we need them now.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>Where Your Support Will Go </strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Even with the rare and generous 50% bursary I was awarded by this prestigious programme, I cannot afford the remaining costs on my own.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Here’s what your support will go towards:
</div>
<ul>
<li>Year One Tuition (remaining 50%): £3,485
</li>
<li>Personal therapy requirements during training: £3,120 (52 weekly sessions at ~ £60 per session)
</li>
<li>Travel costs to London for study weekends: £900
</li>
<li><strong>Total Goal: £7,505</strong>
</li>
</ul>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Any amount over what’s needed will go towards funding the second year of the training. Thank you so much for your generosity.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>What Your Support Makes Possible</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Supporting me in this training is about more than one person’s dream. It is about making psychotherapy more accessible, more diverse, and more representative of the communities it serves.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>I believe I am called to be a ferryman — to walk with others through their hardest crossings. I held my grandfather’s hands as he passed, singing hymns into his ears as he lost his sight, and I’ve sat on city concrete breaking bread with strangers who felt invisible. This path is about carrying forward that same presence; offer conversations and rites of passage for others, but with professional skill and structure.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>I also committed to “paying it forward.” Inspired by my own therapist Paul who has seen me at no cost when I haven’t been able to afford to pay, I intend to dedicate part of my future practice to supporting those who cannot afford therapy — especially queer and biracial people: those of us who straddle the line of acceptance most.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Part of me resists asking for help. But I believe that asking — and receiving — is part of my healing.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>If you feel moved, please consider supporting my journey:</strong>
</div>
<ul>
<li>Donate whatever you can towards my training.
</li>
<li>Share this campaign with others who might resonate with my story.
</li>
</ul>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>If you believe in this, we can make it possible for me to step into this calling and support others in theirs.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>With belief, love, and enormous gratitude,
</div>
<div>Cole
</div>

Anonymous

Carolyn Watkins

Chris Thrasher

Douglas Strang

Persephone Pearl

Ingrid L Woodhead

P Kallas

Ellie Muniandy

Jonathan Randall

Hoi Ching Julietta Lai

Anjelica Cleaver

Joan Fletcher

Josee Meredith Keevil

Anna Murphy

Charles Neal

Mr J G Levontine

Gilly Adams

Help Cole Begin Counselling Training This Autumn

platform

Platform is iOS

Android

Adyen Google Pay Development Audience

$opt_dummy_attribute

English only

Deprecate Stripe Legacy

dyn_template_ids

Adyen V6 Bene Transfer & MyMoney Campaign Organizers - test01

Bene transfer V6 and AdyenV6MyMoney Campaign Organizers - production

OneTrust next-app audience

fundCountryCode

NextDoor Share Option Users

Fundraisers with Reactions feature capability

fundCurrencyCode

US + Non-charity COs Only

locale

fund country is US and user language is English

personId

comms-internal-person-ids

Enhanced Story Experience Users

Suggested Goal Experience Users

user language is English and fund country: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

Poster share - new funds eligible (newest 9/18)

Streaming widgets beta user

paymentProcessor

3DS payment method

user language is English and fundCountry: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

currencyCode

Money Box Donation List Prompt Experiment Audience

GoFundMe Employees

ipAddress

Mark Rieth IP Address

Version 9.2.0 and above

Fund is in English speaking country

desktop

Android v12.11.0 and above

Platform is Android

paymentMethodType

checkoutType

Payment method type group to be vaulted on success

admin pr kit prod

EUR Donation Upsell

Share Text generation Skip Fundraiser

(prod) new funds eligible for amp12 (UGC gallery)

fintrac_cad_idv_form_v2 audience

paymentProcessorAccountId

fallback mode accounts

proCampaignId

p2p legacy startfundraising page

AMP24 New Funds Only PROD (DO NOT MODIFY)

Eligible for Profile Share Badge

countryCode

charityId

UKCharities

Federated Search Internal Testing

route.pathname community

US Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks Feature Audience

Supporter Comments Eligible Funds

International Only

fundId

braze fundraiser group 

Payment Identity Transfers ATO Risk Check (Targeted) - Production

Fundraiser Saved Payment Method Rate Limit Bypass (Production)

leaderboard-partner-id-audience-givepanel

Version 9.2.1 and above

AUD Donation Upsell audience

fundraiserCountryCode is US/EN

Active Fundraiser - Smart Default Cadence

DAF Internal

Vault on success card payment method

Platform is iOS v11.0.0 and above

Desktop users

Person ids

United States (US) users

allow yuno fundraisers for test

Mexico country code

Posters INTL

NPO Profile Opted-In

iOS at or above 12.4.0

non-US recurring donors

Canada Campaign Owner Group

Fundraiser Without Meta Link

Scheduler payment tester gorup

charityCommunityId

Charities allow to be claimed unclaimed (PRD)

Canada (CA) users

UC Tipping v20250115 International

pymk_production_xplr_fe_team

Android at or above 12.2.0

Profile photo entry point audience

smart goals (fundraiser/manage) on test01

Activity Tracking v1 Beta Testing

start gfm intl allowed locales

Platform is iOS v11.2.0 and above

NPO upsell education category

unclaimed charities

prod_ach_audience

AI Chatbot Audience

amp13 only new funds (prod) (anyword auto)

UC Flow Enabled (Prod)

Payment Identity Beneficiary Verification - Production

shared notification bell audience

Custom users

ach frontend audience

Android v11.0.0 and above

Users Receiving Payments Paused Notifications

smart goals test01

Manage Coach - US English Organizers Only + new funds only

Team EGG - IP Address list

NPO recommendations prod

Fundraiser Without Instagram Deep Link

Native 11.4.0 and above

UC Tipping v20250107

Users Receiving Braze KYC Validation Failed

ai_title_page

anyword

openai

control

manual_entry

userEmail

template_id

userId

fundUrl

isCharityCo

email

appVersion

shouldBucketIntoExperiment

isEligibleForProfileBadge

partnerId

donationCadence

isActiveFundraiser

isPartner

isMobile

npoProfileOptIn

fundIsLinkedWithMeta

hasSessionDonation

categoryGroup

isCampaignOwner

fundHasInstagramDeepLink

Native 11.3.0 and above

Native 11.4.0 and higher

New funds eligible - Video Sharing (PROD)

GB Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks V3 Rollout Audience

Thank you V3 testing whitelist

isRecurringFriendly

Is Recurring Friendly

Excluded funds - Video Sharing

NPO upsell animals category

NPO upsell disaster relief category

Logged In Users

CH Donation Upsell audience

Android v10.6.0 and above

NPO upsell essential needs category

NPO upsell medical category

userCurrencyCode

Localized Currency

NPO upsell cancer category

v11.5.0 and above

testAudience

pathname

Survicate

appVersion is at or above 12.8.0

Non-charity fund

isChallengeFundraiser

challenge-fundraisers

Payment Identity Launch Verification - Production

New funds eligible - Posters v2

CAD Donation Upsell Audience

Braze Email Tester

NPO Profile Opted-Out

iOS App Version

hasKnownDonors

PYMK has donors

iOS v12.3.0 and above

Enter your donation forHelp Cole Begin Counselling Training This Autumn