Lucy celebrates its Benefactors and Legators

On Saturday 6th March our Legators, who have pledged support for Lucy in their will, and Benefactors, who have already made significant financial contributions to Lucy, were invited to a virtual event to celebrate the impact of their contributions to the College and its community. 

Organised by Lucy’s Development Office, the event represented a wonderful occasion to express the College’s profound gratitude.

The celebration started with an introduction by College President, Professor Dame Madeleine Atkins, and included an update on fundraising and development by the Development Director, Jo Ryan, and her team.

The College was delighted that several alumnae participated in the event:

Alumna Dr Rosena Allin-Khan MP (Medicine, 2001), Shadow Minister for Mental Health, spoke about her experience of applying to Lucy, and how the College believed in her potential from the very start. Rosena went on to discuss the pandemic’s effects on mental health across the UK. 

Rosena has been a Member of Parliament for Tooting in 2016 and a member of the Labour front bench, firstly as Shadow Minister for Sport from October 2016 – she became Shadow Minister for Mental Health in April 2020. Alongside her ministerial and parliamentary work, Rosena is still a practicing medical doctor working on the frontline during the pandemic.

Cherish Watton (History, 2014) gave a talk on the College’s Foundation story, providing a wonderful insight into the lives of those women who founded Lucy Cavendish as an Approved Collegiate Society in 1965. Cherish is currently doing a PhD in Modern British History at Churchill College.

Alumna Katharina Megli (History and Political Thought, 1991), Director of Lucy Cavendish Singers, followed with an update on the Singers’ and introduced the song ‘Ubi Caritas’, which was then sung by the Singers in a truly joyful moment.

Attendees were delighted to hear more about the redevelopment plans for the College’s Lady Margaret Road site, as Kevin Myers, Director of RHP Architects talked about Lucy’s building project. You can find out more about the new build here.

Development Director Jo Ryan commented: “We are incredibly grateful to Lucy’s supporters for all that they do for our College and its important work. It was a real pleasure to see so many Benefactors and Legators at this special virtual event, and to celebrate the tremendous impact of philanthropy at Lucy. We look forward to sharing the next steps of the College’s exciting journey, and to keeping the College community updated on the outcomes of such generosity within the coming months and years.”

Lucy's Benefactors have each generously donated a cumulative total of £10,000 or more to date, while our Legators have generously committed to remember the College in their will. All our supporters help the College thrive so it can build a diverse community of students, educate and inspire future leaders and tackle the pressing issues of the twenty-first century. Donations enable us to identify and nurture untapped potential from those who haven’t had access to the best education and helps them secure interdisciplinary research opportunities at the highest level.

College President Madeleine Atkins added: “The celebration was very well received and we were delighted that so many of our Benefactors and Legators could join us to enjoy the excellent, varied, talks and presentations, as well as the outstanding choral music of the Lucy Cavendish Singers – a wonderful event to lift the spirits.”

To learn more about our Benefactors and why they support Lucy please visit our Benefactors’ page here. Our Legators’ page can be found here.