Enterprising students get creative to boost local charities

Business students from the University of Wolverhampton raised more than £20,000 for charity as part of learning about enterprise.

Around 200 second year students from Business courses at the University were tasked with devising, pitching and putting into practice fundraising ideas over a seven week period.

It was all part of a learning module on Enterprise, Creativity and Innovation.

This year a total of £23,000 was raised and split between four locally based charities. The Steve Bull Foundation received £9,000, Acorn’s Children’s Hospice £6,000, Compton Hospice £5,000 and St Anthony’s Care Home nearly £2,000.

Fund raising activity included running a masked ball, music events, sponsored cycles and gym challenges.

It all culminated with an exhibition held at Wolverhampton Racecourse last week where the money was handed over to the respective charities.

Barry Whitehouse, Senior Lecturer in Enterprise and Strategic Management at the University of Wolverhampton, said: “The whole aim of the task is to give students a great way of putting a lot of the theory they learn into practice and gain some experience.

“They have to be creative, work as a team, pitch the ideas and then actually go and make it happen and raise the money before displaying what they did at the final exhibition.

“It is a great test of their enterprise skills and takes them out of their comfort zones. It puts them in a real life situation and they have to plan, organise and make decisions.

“It’s great for their CVs and gives them a valuable opportunity to enhance their skills, while a number of charities also benefit.”

It is the fifth year students have taken part in the task- raising more than £130,000 in the process.

ENDS

Caption (from left to right): Barry Whitehouse, Sally Woods of Compton Hospice, Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences Miceal Barden and module lecturers John Bates and Bob Almond.

For more information please contact James Allen in the Media Relations Office on 01902 322003

Date Issued: Tuesday 12 May 2015