WALKING is great therapy for the soul. It gives you time to think, time to find perspective on the things that are important in this life.
On July 19 I’ll have plenty of thinking time as I’ll be walking the Lyke Wake walk – 40 miles over the North Yorkshire Moors – to raise money for a very inspirational charity, Young Enterprise.
Young Enterprise is a national charity that brings business volunteers into the classroom to work with teachers and students to get them to think about business issues using the principle of learning by doing.
The “businesses” compete locally and then nationally to find the best.
At the recent North-East awards dinner the final four gave extremely polished presentations to an audience of more than 200 business people on their year-long projects.
These included organised raves, sex education, food growing kits and production/sale of canvas prints.
Their confidence in their own abilities was a testament to them, their advisors and the schools involved.
They all had strong business ideas and it was obvious that each group had thought in detail about the customer, production, marketing and financials.
Wherefore Art? gave a witty take on their project and their short commercial, with a little polish, would not have been out of place on the TV.
The business they launched tied up an exclusive agreement with Hartlepool Football Club and made more than £500 profit, which they have donated to charity.
Whose Life Is It Anyway? were the eventual winners tackling the thorny problem of sex education.
Their solution, the sex box, is aimed at parents, and contains ideas on how to discuss this issue with their children.
It’s an extremely sensitive subject and they dealt with this well. They have sold significant numbers of it and the judges saw an opportunity to adapt the product to both drug and alcohol abuse. I wish them well in the national final, to be held at The Savoy, in London.
The fact that more than 40 local secondary schools and numerous primary schools took part this year is excellent.
However, for Young Enterprise to continue its good work it needs not only commitment from the schools, but also help from business people who are prepared to give time to act as advisors to these groups. Details can be found at youngenterprise.
org.uk For more details on how to sponsor me for my walk, please email me chris.beaumont@ cliveowen.com Please invest in our future.
■ Chris Beaumont is NECC Tees Valley committee chairman and partner at Clive Owen & Co LLP.
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