Positive Steps

Since our last update, our own Events team have been working with a group of 6 young people to plan, organise and run a fundraising event for Teens Unite.

The type of event and subsequent planning was decided between the group, with the guidance of Teens Unite and support of the venue.  One of our Foundation partners supported the team to help with

• Venue (at cost)
• Event date
• Outline costings
• Event support

The young people needed to :

• Research and decide on the 'type’ of event
• Set out the event purpose (to raise funds and awareness for Teens Unite)
• Work with venue throughout the programme – event team, décor, catering etc.
• Outline target audience
• Set out cost projections
• Source raffle/ auction prizes/
• Decide whether the event will be ticketed or invitation only?
• Create marketing material
• Decide on event design and outline any additional costs?
• Set and execute an event promotion plan
• Pre event briefing
• Set up and run event

We were delighted that the event – Raise a Glass – was a huge success.  The Teens hosted the event at the prestigious Wardorf Hotel, in the cocktail bar, The Parrot.  There were more than 50 invited guests, who enjoyed cocktails and mocktails created by the Teens. They enjoyed canapes carefully selected for them and took part in a raffle.  The team raised an incredible £1700 for the Charity, but more importantly they achieved a whole host of key objectives. They 

• Were encouraged to think positively about life with and beyond their illness
• Developed skills such as teamwork, organisational skills, communication (verbal and written), and public speaking
• Gained an insight into a diverse range of careers in the Hospitality Industry and experienced the working world
• Rebuilt confidence and motivation to return to education or employment and plan for a future beyond cancer
• were able to gain an experience which they can include on their CV and work experience history
• were provided with a sense of achievement, improving self- confidence & self-esteem
• Worked collaboratively with other young people, venue, Teens Unite and our foundation partners

To everyone who has supported this project, a huge thank you.  You are continuing to help us support young people fighting cancer to love their best life while others search for a cure.

Since our last update, we have launched an exciting new programme giving six young people supported by Teens Unite, the opportunity to organise, develop and run their own fundraising event, working alongside our own events team.

We are really excited that this is something a little different, and have developed the programme to give the participants the opportunity to gain practical experience utilising a wide range of skills including research, design, sales, negotiation and finance as well as event management.

In the first meeting, the group got together and started to get to know each other over a lovely lunch at some stunning offices in London’s city district. They started to discuss some of their initial ideas, talk about the roles that they thought might be required, and their own skills and strengths as well as their ambitions.

By the end of this meeting, they had allocated some initial tasks and started to work on researching different event ideas, venues suitable for each. They talked about their budget and started to think about their audience, how they would market and promote their event.

It was a long day, but the team left full of ideas and excited to get to work on their allocated tasks.

During the second event, the team re-grouped and developed their event idea, they got really creative thinking about a name for their event. They had some ideas about venues, and made dates to go and see the venues and their facilities.

By the time we update you next time, these young people will have hosted their event. We will be delighted to share with you all of the details and share some of the pictures.

To everyone who has contributed to our project, a huge thank you, for allowing us to try something a little different which will teach new skills and give valuable experience that will enhance the CVs of the young people we are supporting.