As experts in business coaching we help SME businesses to grow and realise their ambitions. We’re also passionate about helping the next generation of local business owners unlock their true potential.
As a part of this commitment, our Managing Director, Ian Hargreaves, was recently involved in a National Citizen Service (NCS) programme powered by the Challenge, at Park Lane College in Leeds on August 12.
Alongside other business leaders, Ian sat on a Dragon’s Den-style panel and judged the presentations of six groups of around a dozen 15-17 year olds from across Leeds.
The children had volunteered to take part in the project over their summer break to take on some new challenges and meet new friends. The presentation day was a culmination of a three-week project, including a week away from home and two weeks’ work planning an action day for a charity project.
Assigned by the project leaders, the charity projects ranged from building a communal fire pit in Harehills, to hosting a gala fundraiser. They were all community-driven initiatives aimed at benefiting the local area, with the six teams working together to build a full event plan, including individual roles and responsibilities, budget and marketing strategy.
On the final day, the teams pitched their ideas to Ian and the rest of the judges, who then granted a small amount of additional funding to the winning team to put into their project. The winning project was the fire-pit, for CATCH Leeds, due to originality of the idea.
Ian said: “I was so impressed by the effort that had gone into each project. Every detail had been thought about – more detail than I have seen in some real life business plans in fact!
“It was fantastic to see all the finalists getting involved and pushing themselves to gain completely new skills that will help prepare them for professional employment in the future.”
The Challenge is the UK’s leading integration charity that works on a local level to connect communities and inspire local young people. To find out more, visit their website.