Sponsor
A sponsor is a graduate of the programme who oversees the progress of a specific boy in an intake through the programme.
The sponsor is responsible for engineering the boy's disappearance and abduction in a manner which brings no suspicion to Dorley Hall.[ch. 6] She will generally be the first person associated with the program the boy will knowingly meet, and is responsible for orienting him to the programme. She manages the boy's psychological health and development, in part through the use of levers to guide (or manipulate) the boy into confronting unpleasant personal truths or to trigger crises to dismantle the boy's psychological defense mechanisms. The sponsor also determines when to reveal certain key pieces of information, such as the fact that his intake is not the first to go through the programme, and that all of the sponsors are graduates of the programme.
As time passes, if the boy progresses and ultimately embraces the changes being encouraged, the sponsor's role likewise develops from manipulator to mentor. She becomes the new girl's "Sister," helping her to adjust and acclimate to womanhood.
This article is incomplete. You can help by expanding it.
List of sponsors in Aunt Bea’s programme
| Sponsor | Intakes | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Abby | Melissa (2012) | One-time sponsor |
| Ashley | unnamed (2005) | |
| Barbara | unnamed (2005) | |
| Bella | Rebecca (2018) | Also co-sponsors Faye (2018 intake) starting from 2019.[ch. 16] |
| Charlie | Aisha (2018) | |
| Donna | Jodie (2017) | |
| Edy | unknown intake (?), Adam (2019) | Edy sponsored at least one intake before leaving and later returning to Dorley.[ch. 19] |
| Ellie | Pippa (2016) | One-time sponsor |
| Francesca | Paige (2017) | |
| Harmony | Ollie (2019) | |
| Indira | Christine (2017) | Also co-sponsors Faye starting from 2019[ch. 16], and sponsors Beth during 2019 when Maria is injured.[ch. 18] |
| Jane | 2 unknown intakes, Raph (2019) | Jane tells Aunt Ashley that Raph is her third intake.[ch. 31] |
| Lisa | Julia (2017) | |
| Maria | Edy (2005), unknown intakes, Bethany (2019) | |
| Monica | unknown washout, |
|
| Nadine | Mia (2018) | |
| Natalie | Jane (after 2005) | Natalie is not one of Aunt Bea’s original team of sponsors in 2004/05; in the same chapter Jane is referred to as “Nat’s girl”.[ch. 31] |
| Nell | Faye (2018) | Replaced as sponsor in Faye’s second year, jointly by Indira and Bella.[ch. 16] |
| Pamela | Martin (2019) | |
| Pippa | Steph (2019) | After Steph's sexual assault during the medical examination by Karen, Pippa resolves to become a sponsor in name only [ch. 12], especially once Steph comes out to her as a trans woman. [ch. 14] |
| Sarah | unnamed (2005) | |
| Sally | Yasmin (2017) | |
| Tabitha | Leigh (2019) | It is heavily implied that Jan was one of Tabitha’s intakes.[ch. 35] |
| Trish | unnamed (2005), Rabia (?) |
Part-time sponsors
At various points other Dorley graduates, programme members, or disclosed outsiders have been pressed into service as temporary sponsors or put on “guard duty” in the basement; from the 2019 intake, these part-timers so far include Paige,[ch. 17] Christine,[ch. 32] Amy, Melissa,[ch. 37], Angela, and Gillian.[ch. 44] At one point, even Steph and Bethany are drafted into assisting Jane manage the remaining basement dwellers.[ch. 37] Steph also assisted sponsoring Adam in Edy’s absence, after the attack on Maria.[ch. 18]
| Outside friends, family, and allies | |
|---|---|
| Sponsors | Aasha Chetry, Derek, Diane, Hasan, Levi, Robert |