MAB Educational Legacy Fund est. 23rd June 2022
MAB Educational Legacy fund - Why we are setting this up.
The education profession is a vocation dedicated to making a difference in our students' lives. Over the years, the best teachers we've worked with admit that teaching is not a "job", it"s a "calling".
For me personally, my purpose is to help children learn and change their future for the better.
Since 2007 KidooLand has helped over 7,000 children with their bilingual journey. Up until now, the extensive costs of running a business in the South of France has meant our classes have not been available to all. Read on to find out what we are going to be doing to change that and help even more children with their English learning.
Is Education in the Beauvoisin DNA?
I grew up hearing about my paternal family links to education.
In the late 1700s my French 3rd great grandfather left France on a voyage of discovery and settled in Lancashire, England where he started working as a French teacher. Records are sadly not extensive enough to tell me how that went but we can see that he did this for many, many years so hopefully he was successful.
By the mid 1900’s, my paternal grandparents had taken over and then ran a successful school in England called St Brendan’s. My Dad grew up within its walls and so often recounted the initiatives and ideas his parents had when running the school and of course some of the fun pranks he got involved in.
Photo credit Beauvoisin: St Brendan's School Stanmore. The front garden was a tennis court.
The times were very different and so my grandparents were quite strict but despite this I was pleased to read in the 1966 school magazine report that the headmistress, my grandmother was ;
“unique .. if the children need discipline, it is there, if they want kindness – it is there, if they want a bit of fun – it is forthcoming; if they want to work – she is way ahead, if they must learn HOW to work she is the one who will inspire them.”
Both my grandparents felt that “children are our main concern”.
I found this magazine in a bundle of papers my Dad gave me when he moved back to the UK.
To see how closely our own path with KidooLand was to my grandparents truly marked me.
My Dad was one of life’s learners, fascinated with language and its' etymology, he loved politics and current affairs, had an amazing knowledge of history and geography and was ever the teacher, keen to keep sharing this knowledge and passion for learning with all his family.
Photo credit ABB: A practical history lesson with the grandchildren in Ireland
It struck me as I wrote this article, that my siblings and I have all ended up as entrepreneurs running our own Training services. We work in different domains but we are all in education.
Last summer in 2021, in the middle of a double country quarantine between England and France, my Dad sadly passed away after a very long battle. I was very fortunate to get to spend some brief yet quality time with him in the July and I remember telling him how much impact his mentoring and education had on me and my siblings growing up.
Our parents forsake a lot to ensure we had the very best education.
We had many (challenging!) conversations if we did not meet expectations in our end of term school reports, which is a little ironic now managing Training centres. I also have his own school reports in my hand as he was quite the maverick too in class!
Education was key for him, of course we realise now because he literally grew up within a school, he knew the doors good education could open for you.
It was a great moment to be able to thank him for the investment he had made in our education, share what a difference it had made in our lives and those of his grandchildren.
I thanked him too for his complete belief and support in me as an entrepreneur.
He (and my mum ;-) ) lent me the money to open KidooLand's doors right at the beginning, which I was able to pay back over time and from then on, he always had my back and was ready at the end of the phone with advice whenever I needed.
We bounced around ideas and had invigorating debates on so many areas of the business. When I wanted to launch the Loft he was quick to offer his financial backing for the renovations. In the end we didn’t need that help but just knowing it was there gave me the psychological backing that is was ok to proceed.
He loved KidooLand and regularly told me how proud he was of what we were accomplishing. One promise I made to him was that I would make his legacy live on.
A tear rolled down his face and I knew that he was happy and proud that his children and grandchildren would be able to carry on the educational torch.
I left thinking that was our last conversation but in fact, in a way that only those that knew him would believe .. the next day he had rallied completely. He was back alert and ready to chat .. or more in his lawyer style ..cross examine ;-)
I wasn’t to know it but this was to be our last conversation.
He drew on all his strength to ask me “How is KidooLand? “
It might strike some as unusual that these were his final thoughts but as an entrepreneur himself, business management was never far from his mind. He had faced many a recession and crisis and truly knew the highs and lows of running a business.
He knew with every fibre of his being, that during the pandemic .. I was having the ultimate test in my time as CEO.
Having heard our biz stories by phone since March 2020, he wanted look me in the eye and hear it direct from the horse’s mouth, know that that this little business he had seen grow from a seed was safe and surviving through the pandemic.
Thankfully I was able to tell him that yes, the team and I had had all hands to the pumps, working really hard to maintain and save things and we were probably through the worst, I reassured him
“We are OK we are going to make it.”
He relaxed back into his pillow saying “Well done .. well done” .
It is incredibly poignant to me that this was one of the last things on his mind and that my answer provided him peace.
He left us that night and I remain so incredibly grateful that in incredibly challenging times his whole family were given a window of opportunity to have these poignant conversations with him.
MAB Educational Legacy fund
As we approach his birthday - 23rd June - I think back to my promise to make his legacy live on and it seems timely to be able to tell you about an initiative I am launching in his memory and honour...
The MAB Educational Legacy Fund is being set up to help children that otherwise would not be able to access the services on offer at KidooLand.
In our first year we are looking to help 2 children who ordinarily would not be able to come to KidooLand for financial reasons. They will need to live close to our centres and have a real passion for learning. We hope that by providing them with access to our English courses, they will be able to learn and grow and truly live their best lives.
Criteria:
- Demonstrates educational ability – We are looking for students who already are demonstrating their ability in school with an excellent school record. No prior knowledge of English is required
- Financial need – Quotient familial / impots examined
- Geographical location (resident of Vallauris or Villeneuve Loubet)
- Age range in 2022 (age 6-8 years old)
- European passport / ID holder
- The qualifying student(s) must maintain 90% attendance and maintain his/her school grades as well as participate actively in our classes and complete their homework.
- Classes and supplies will be provided along with 3 evaluations through the school year.
I hope this initiative will take form and grow over time to truly be an MAB legacy, one that we will be able to ask other small businesses and companies to join us in so that together we can really start to make an impact in young learner education.
Photo credit SPB: Proud Dad with me as I graduated with a degree in French and Linguistics ..looking at some of my school reports this may have come as a surprise to some of my school teachers!
