Standing Tall: An Evening with Olympic Medallist Victoria Thornley

Join us at the prestigious Leander Club for an inspiring journey from self-doubt to Olympic glory.

Victoria Thornley's story is one of transformation - from a teenager who struggled with being 6'3" and faced rejection from modelling agencies for being "too tall," to discovering her extraordinary potential through rowing and ultimately winning Olympic silver.

Victoria will share her remarkable path of turning what once felt like a limitation into her greatest strength. In conversation with Patsy Dhir, she'll discuss:

• Finding her calling through the Sporting Giants initiative
• Building confidence and resilience in elite sports
• Transitioning from Olympic athlete to successful businesswoman
• The power of self-belief in navigating life's pivotal moments

Drawing parallels with Smart Works Reading's mission of empowering women in their professional journeys, Victoria will explore how women can embrace their unique qualities to succeed, whether returning to work, changing careers, or balancing family life with professional ambitions.

Make an Evening of It:

* Begin with a welcome glass of fizz

* Get ahead on your Christmas shopping with our carefully curated collection featuring new-with-tags womenswear from premium brands, preloved treasures, and specially selected accessories and gifts

* Win with our amazing magic tree and raffle

* Bid for exceptional auction prizes

* Take home a luxury goody bag (worth £45)

Every ticket purchased supports Smart Works Reading's mission of empowering unemployed women on their journey to job success.

Our thanks go to Leander Club for gifting us the use of its event space.

Smart Works Reading is a charity that supports local women into employment via our free job interview dressing and preparation service. We provide a two-stage consultation at our centre in central Reading. Clients are given an interview-ready outfit that is theirs to keep, followed by a one-to-one coaching session with an HR professional to help them excel at interview.

We help some of the most vulnerable women in society who are referred to us from job centres, prisons, refugees, mental health charities and other support services. The women we see want a job but lack the confidence to succeed at interview.

Last year, 63% of women who benefited from our service went on to get a job within a month.