The stepUP Foundation, which offers weekend workshops for teens to inspire and coach them around their futures, has grown from its roots in Australia and New Zealand, and is now offering its first ever programmes in the UK.  The foundation, which was founded in 2002 by businesswoman Ryll Burgin out of her participation in Landmark Education’s Self-Expression and Leadership Programme has seen over 6,000 teens in Australia and New Zealand coached and mentored in the weekend workshops. In addition to expanding to the UK this year, stepUP’s 2009 schedule has them starting new programmes in South Africa, Hong Kong, Singapore and Ireland. StepUP will work work with another 6,000 teens this year alone, while 2009 will see 18,000 teens complete the programme.

At the stepUP weekends, the teens listen to inspirational speakers who are highly successful in their fields, be it music, sport, business or some other area. All stepUP speakers have one thing in common–They have overcome extraordinary adversity to be successful. To have the teens take on what they’ve heard, they are divided into groups of 7-10 and given coach/mentors who are successful businesspeople, and they work on applying the programme to their home, their education and their future. For more information, go to http://www.stepupfoundation.com.