Envision

On Thursday 10th December five teams of student applicants from Envision’s Birmingham programme pitched their plans for social and environmental projects to a panel of ‘Dragons’ in the hope of being awarded up to £500 to turn their ideas into reality.

Each team of students had 15 minutes to pitch their project followed by 15 minutes of questions from the panel.
 
This event proved to be a brilliant opportunity for Envision teams to extend the scale of their projects and be more ambitious in their delivery. The teams that pitched also benefit hugely from the process of preparing a professional pitch and having to present in front of experts and their peers.
 
We had a fantastic panel of business representatives for students to pitch to. They were;

• Damian Carvill, Marketing Manager for Packt Publishing

• Jackie Ridge, Managing Director of Preston UK
  

• Sarah Robinson, Foundation Manager for Cooperative Group

• Stephen Haselden, Managing Director of OzoneBus and Executive of Rotala PLC

• Simon Cox, Waste Water Services Director for Severn Trent

The 5 schools and colleges represented were;

Joseph Chamberlain College
This team want to tackle eating disorders by raising awareness in their college through a fashion show for all body types.

Update: The Dragons were impressed by the teams plans for wide engagement on the issue of body image but emphasised the importance of tackling the issue in a sensitive way. They were awarded £300 to deliver their event and promised a further £200 to extend their project following feedback and review of their first event.

Baverstock School
They pitched for funds to run an event at their school in an attempt to bring their community together with various activities including fund raising, live music and local food.

Update: The Dragons loved the community impact of this project but were concerned that too much of the money was being used to pay for professional services. They therefore awarded the team £450 with the proviso that only £200 be spent on professional services. However, three of the Dragons offered to provide the professional expertise and support that the team requires which will enable them to use the additional money in other areas of their project.

King Edwards Camp Hill Girls
They hoped to win the full £500 to raise the important issue of water usage in their school and local community by running a competition for all local residents to reduce their water usage and following it up with an event for Water Aid day.

Update: The Dragons commended the girls on their top class presentation and well thought out project. However, they did have a few safety concerns over certain aspects of the project and therefore awarded them £250 to deliver the first phase of their project with a further £250 'banked' while they adjust their second phase.

Small Heath School
The students here are unhappy with the crime rates in their area and after canvassing the opinions of local residents have found that the majority of people agree. They hope that by holding a community event and campaigning for more facilities in the area, they can improve safety in their area.

Update: Dragons thought the project was a great concept and thoroughly supported the idea of introducing role models for lower year students. The dragons advised the team that more work was needed to focus their ideas into a structured programme. They therefore awarded them £100 with a further £250 'banked' while they develop their plans further. One of the dragons also volunteered to work with the team to help them achieve their goal.

King Edwards Handsworth Girls
They pitched for funds to create a Peace Garden in their school in memory and support of the charity, Help for Heroes, which serves to raise money for those who have been wounded in the service of their country.

Update: The Dragons loved the girls idea for a memorial garden and commended them for the detail in their presentation. They advised them to develop media contacts to help promote their project and suggested they take advice from a gardener  when designing their garden. The team were awarded £444 and one of the dragons provided them with a contact for a landscape designer to help with their project.

Pitch 4 Change was a huge success for everyone involved and the students are looking forward to putting their ideas into action using the funds and support they attracted through their pitch. We'll be following them as their projects progress so watch this space for further updates at the end of the academic year (2010)

Pitch 4 Change is kindly supported by the Tellus Mater Foundation.