West Cumbrian students raise over £700 for suicide bereavement charity in tin pot challenge
/A group of nine entrepreneurial students in Workington have raised more than £700 for a local suicide bereavement charity by upcycling tin cans as part of Gen2’s National Apprenticeship Week Entrepreneurial Challenge.
Team Two Times Tins
The Business Administration apprentices initially had the idea of turning an old tin of baked beans into desk tidies and generated a business case in which all funds raised would support their nominated charity, Suicide Bereavement Support. The Two Times Tins team’s creativity flowed and by transforming 140 tin cans, they not only created desk tidies, but also plant pots, pin storage tins made from tuna cans and larger storage solutions created from industrial sized tins.
Anya Marshall from the Gen2 team explained, “This was such a fun project to work on! It wasn’t all smooth sailing and we experienced some hiccoughs along the way, such as the spray paint having a really patchy effect instead of the consistent finish we were hoping for. We improvised and found workable solutions, by using hessian fabric, for instance. The plant pots sold out super fast and we wish we’d made more of them. The most incredible thing was that we worked so well as a team and, despite the pressure, there were no arguments!”
The team came second in the Entrepreneurial Challenge against other teams who also donated the proceeds of sales to their chosen charities by executing innovative business ideas. Anya continued, “The best part of it was that we raised such a large amount of money for the charity. We decided to run a raffle and we’d like to thank the local businesses which provided some incredible prizes.”
The tin pot challengers were keen to support Cumbrian charity, Suicide Bereavement Support (SBS) (charity no. 1184889). “We chose this charity mainly because it’s local,” explained Anya, “but also because suicide is such an issue in Cumbria. Statistics prove that Cumbria has one of the highest suicide rates in the UK. It’s extremely important that loved ones affected by suicide get the bereavement support they need.”
SBS offers four self-help support groups across Cumbria, where those left behind by suicide can meet with other people in a similar position. They provide an opportunity to listen, to share, to gain understanding and to connect with others. A helpline service and private forum is also available and is run by volunteers who have been personally affected by suicide.
If you would like to support the tin pot challengers, you can still donate online by clicking here.
Support for people touched by suicide
If you are struggling with the death of someone who has taken their own life and need someone to listen to your experience and offer you support, please do get in touch. You can call the SBS helpline on 07572 975 721 (John) or 07896 703 757 (Karan). You can also email us at hello@sbs.org.uk or you can visit us on Facebook and Twitter at @CumbriaSBS.
