The University of West London is proud to introduce the 2022 Entrepreneur Award winner, Rachel Dimond. Rachel established and runs her own charity, My Yard, which helps isolated and underprivileged people in her local community.
Rachel came to university late in life, having left at school at sixteen after struggling with ADHD. She didn’t necessarily think that education was for her, and instead went travelling around the world.
At 29 years old, she decided to pursue higher education and enrolled on a BA course in Digital Broadcast Media at the University of West London.
It was just really nice. We were the first year of the course so there was only three of us. I found that it was so easy to get support, it was like that kind of journey of people who were interested in me and our personal relationships. All the tutors had so much love and care.
In the January of her final year, Rachel gave birth to her first child, and while juggling motherhood and final exams, began working on a print magazine called Lifescape. This magazine collated everything Rachel cared about, from organic food, to healthy eating, to eco-friendly lifestyles.
Lifescape earned a contract and was published in shops all over the country, and ran for years. Rachel managed the transition of the magazine into online formats but left after the rise of apps. At this point, Rachel experienced some personal issues which required her to take a step back.
It was during this time that she realised how much she liked helping people, and it was here that the idea for My Yard germinated, and she decided to register a charity.
When you go through a hard time, you sit in your room and you think ‘I’m sitting here and I have my health and everything to give but I’m just alone.’ So I registered a charity and I didn’t know what I wanted to do, but I wanted to help people who just needed a helping hand.
Most people wouldn’t even know where to start when registering a charity, and Rachel was no exception. At the time, she claims, she didn’t even know how to sign off an email properly. Nevertheless, she registered the charity as ‘Angel Hands’ which eventually grew into My Yard.
From inauspicious beginnings handing out Christmas presents to lonely people, Rachel grew the charity into a living entity with a wide reach. Running food banks using up surplus food, organising youth groups and elderly care, hosting sports programmes and just generally being there for her community. Her focus, she says, is on those people without a community, who feel lost and alone.
We try and structure it around people. I’ve clashed with people before because they want to just get people off the food bank, but I want to connect with people every week. It’s like having lunch with them, not just giving them food and pushing them on.
Rachel was aided in growing the charity by utilising social media, connecting with people and hunting for new opportunities. She learned to navigate the digital sphere by returning to study at the University of West London.
I was struggling with where to take it. So I did a masters in Digital Marketing, basically out of the blue. And it’s a really good course you know. I think everyone should do it. Marketing teaches you about people, people’s energy, everything.
Of course, Covid had a huge impact on Rachel and her work, but she persevered nonetheless.
At first it was just like military-style intensity trying to get food out to everyone. We were trying to source healthy meals, and using what I already knew more industrially. There was a big influx of energy that petered out. You know, covid was just intense survival for everyone, but now there’s a lot of mental health issues and a lot of people struggling.
Rachel has been on an incredible journey, and thoroughly deserves her recognition as this year’s entrepreneur award. She was given her trophy at the UWL Alumni Awards, which took place on 30th March 2022 at the University of West London.
I’m proudest of finding my own confidence to own my strengths and my weaknesses. I’m not out to make money, and I’ve found my peace. Usually, I feel a little awkward for getting praise because of other people’s difficulties. But that’s a double-edged sword with charities. Like, I’m glad My Yard got big but I don’t want to benefit from that. I would love to tell everyone that you can fail drastically in education but with the right support and direction, you can get an award like this. It means a lot to me. No one’s ever really noticed me, so it means a lot to be noticed now.