Cordukes Circle

The Cordukes Circle brings together individuals who have committed to regular donations for over 5 years or have donated a total greater than £1,000. Those who have pledged a legacy to the University in their will are also invited to join.

In return for your generosity and commitment to the University, you will be welcomed into the Cordukes Circle.

This gives you access to exclusive events, regular updates from the University, and a bespoke Cordukes pin.

Your impact

This academic year our donors have helped fund 9 alumni-funded scholarships, improving access to education for underrepresented individuals. These students include carers, care leavers, mature students and those with parental responsibilities. Our scholarship recipients are extremely grateful for the support they receive through our alumni-funded scholarships. Hearing from them, they use the funds to help with travel costs for commuting between home and university, for books on their syllabus to keep on top of their studies, or to put towards childcare allowing them more time to study.

"Hearing I had received the scholarship was monumental!"

Previous scholarship recipient and current Doctorate of Counselling Psychology student

"The funding has helped to provide me and my son a lovely, homely environment that is safe for my son but also helps me to concentrate on my work at university and in the long run saving me money on buses and childcare."

Second year Children, Young People and Society student

Find out more about our alumni-funded scholarships. Hear directly from our recipients and some  of our donors on our new blog: Donor case studies.

Our Cordukes Circle events

2024

This February, the Vice Chancellor, Professor Karen Bryan OBE, welcomed members of the Cordukes Circle to our York campus for the annual Cordukes Circle event. Guests were thanked for their continued support and given an insight into York St John's current and future plans.

Guests received a tour of our Communities Centre which offers high quality and accessible counselling for citizens of York and North Yorkshire. Guests saw the bespoke rooms which are used for counselling, coaching and group sessions for those seeking support for domestic abuse, mental health and wellbeing, bereavement and more. Members also learnt how York St John counselling students are able to learn first-hand from qualified practitioners in real-life scenarios.

After returning to the Creative Centre, guests were treated to the Chancellor's Lecture with Reeta Chakrabarti in conversation with Katya Adler, BBC's Europe Editor. Throughout this inspiring talk, attendees heard about Katya's time on the front-line both in war zones and being the BBC's leading voice on Europe's relations with the UK post-Brexit.

2023

In March 2023, the Vice Chancellor, Professor Karen Bryan OBE, welcomed members of our Cordukes Circle to our York campus for the second annual Cordukes Circle lunch.

The Vice Chancellor began by welcoming attendees to campus and thanking them for their continued support, before giving them an insight into York St John's current and future plans. For both new and returning Cordukes members, this insightful exploration of our values, our future plans and our commitment to our local community provided a welcome update on how our values align with their support.

Matthew Taylor, Director of Marketing, Student Recruitment and Admissions, spoke about the importance and necessity of our scholarship provision and gave an overview of the impact your donations have on our students. This impact was further highlighted when attendees had the chance to listen to 2 scholarship recipients, Eve and Richard.

"I spoke to somebody at the student funding team who were really helpful and suggested that I apply for the scholarship. Luckily, I was accepted and the difference it made to our family has just been unmeasurable. We were able to food shop regularly...buy academic resources, pay for school uniforms, not have to rely on friends and family to help us out when we had bills to pay."

Eve

Visit our YouTube channel to find out more about how your impact helped support Eve during her degree and was the influencing factor in her continuing with her studies on our Doctorate of Counselling Psychology course at York St John.

Eve's story (YouTube)

After learning about this impact of their continued support, attendees broke for lunch with the chance to network and chat to specialist staff members about scholarship support. Afterwards, guests gained exclusive access to our new Health Simulation Suite which provides state-of-the-art training facilities for our allied healthcare professionals, paramedics and nurses of the future. The suite comprises of 2 simulated hospital wards, clinical and community environments, and a domestic flat, in which our students can apply their learning.

Tour completed, attendees were invited to take part in light refreshments while completing written and video case studies about why they made the decision to support the University. For many Cordukes members, their case studies link their own history with York St John as either student or staff member as one of their core motivations for supporting the University today. 

How to become a Cordukes Circle member

You can meet the criteria stated above by donating through the following channels:

• Online via JustGiving
• By standing order: Support Us - Standing Order Form (PDF, 79.1 kB)
• By leaving a gift in your will to York St John University