Continuing our journey together – WiHTL & DiR

We recently welcomed our long-standing partners, WiHTL & Diversity in Retail (DiR), to The North Star to celebrate everything we’ve achieved together – and to mark the beginning of an exciting new chapter.

During the visit, WiHTL & DiR announced that Team Domenica will remain their charity partner for the next three years. This renewed commitment reflects a shared belief that every young person with a learning disability or autism deserves the opportunity to build confidence, develop skills and find meaningful employment.

Hearing stories that matter

The visit gave members of the WiHTL & DiR team the opportunity to experience The North Star first-hand, meet some of our candidates and hear about the life-changing difference employment can make.

One of the highlights of the day was hearing from several of our past and present candidates, who shared their personal journeys into work. They spoke about building confidence, gaining independence and discovering a sense of purpose through employment.

Their stories are a powerful reminder of why partnerships like this matter. By bringing together inclusive employers and talented young people with learning disabilities and autism, we’re opening doors that transform lives – for our candidates and for the businesses that welcome them.

Read Guy’s Story about his Supported Internship at Odeon, an organisation that is part of WiTHL & DiR’s collaborative community.

Celebrating what we’ve achieved together

Since our partnership began, the WiHTL & DiR community has made an extraordinary impact.

Together, we have:

• Raised more than £400,000 to support Team Domenica’s work.
• Connected our candidates with 12 employer partners across hospitality, retail and leisure.
• Created meaningful pathways into employment through work experience, Supported Internships and paid jobs.
• Helped champion learning disability inclusion across one of the UK’s most influential employer networks.

Even more excitingly, WiHTL & DiR has now set an ambitious goal to raise £1 million over the next three years, helping even more young people achieve greater independence through employment.

That is an incredible commitment, and one we are immensely proud to be part of.

A partnership built on shared values

During the visit, Tea Colaianni, Founder of WiHTL & DiR, reflected on the partnership and why Team Domenica’s work aligns so closely with WiHTL & DiR’s mission.

Working with Team Domenica has been both inspiring and humbling. They bring an unwavering commitment to helping young people with learning disabilities achieve meaningful employment and greater independence.

 

What stands out most is their practical, person-centred approach. They don’t simply prepare individuals for work; they work alongside employers to create environments where people can thrive. Every interaction with Team Domenica demonstrates their passion, professionalism and belief in the potential of every individual. They are a fantastic example of what can be achieved when purpose and action come together.

 

At WiHTL & DiR, we believe that talent is everywhere, but opportunity is not always distributed equally. Team Domenica’s work directly addresses that challenge by helping talented young people overcome barriers to employment and fulfil their potential.

Tea Colaianni, Founder of WiHTL & DiR

Creating opportunities together

Our partnership has always been about more than raising money. Through WiHTL & DiR’s incredible network, our candidates have gained work experience, Supported Internships and paid employment with some of the UK’s leading employers, including Watches of Switzerland, Hilton, Compass Group, Costa, Nando’s and many more.

These opportunities don’t just change individual lives – they help businesses discover the value that an inclusive workforce can bring.

As Tea explains:

“Partnering with Team Domenica is not just an investment in social impact, it is an investment in talent. Businesses that work with Team Domenica often discover benefits that go far beyond recruitment. They strengthen their culture, improve employee engagement and gain a deeper understanding of what inclusion looks like in practice.”

Looking ahead

We’re so grateful to everyone at WiHTL & DiR and their community for believing in our mission to open doors for young people with learning disabilities and autism. They have helped us to make a genuine impact by providing our candidates with work experience and Supported Internships within national organisations in addition to raising funds for our new Education Centre.

With another three-year partnership and ambitious fundraising goal, we are excited about what we can achieve together.

Tea perfectly summed up,

“Inclusion is about recognising potential where others may overlook it. Team Domenica helps businesses do exactly that, and the result is stronger organisations, stronger communities and better opportunities for everyone.”

WiHTL & DiR is an extraordinary partner to Team Domenica. Their support goes far beyond fundraising. It reflects a shared belief that young people with learning disabilities and autism deserve the opportunity to develop their talents, build their confidence and find meaningful employment. Through their network, 23 of our candidates have already secured work experience, internships and paid employment with leading employers, while their Collaboration Community has contributed more than £137,000 towards our new education and training centre at Pavilion Buildings in the heart of Brighton. We are proud and privileged to be WiHTL’s charity partner and excited about everything we will achieve together.

Baroness Monckton, Founder and Chair of Team Domenica

As we look ahead to the next three years, we’re excited to build on everything we’ve achieved together. With the continued support of WiHTL & DiR and their incredible community of employers, we’ll open more doors, create more opportunities, and help even more young people with learning disabilities and autism find their place in the world of work.

Thank you to everyone at WiHTL & DiR, every member organisation and everyone who continues to believe in our candidates. Here’s to the next chapter together.