The annual Year 8 £10 Social Entrepreneurship Challenge asks students to raise funds for a charity by creating a service or product that has a social impact.
Following a series of workshops, each of us was given £10 to fund our project. We spent some time deciding which issues were important to us and what we could create to raise money. We then carried out research into the social problem and submitted our ideas. Once these were approved, we could start to create our product and sell it.
I was inspired fund a project focused on saving orangutans after being inspired by a video I had seen in a Year 7 Geography lesson and believe they have a right to a stable habitat. To raise awareness of this issue, I developed an orangutan charm bracelet and a leaflet which I sold and made profit on and donated to the World Wildlife Fund.
Selling during a pandemic taught us many things, including how to be flexible with our selling process. For example, I was initially planning to sell my bracelets at school and in my local village. However, due to lockdown, this could not happen, and I had to adapt my sales process and sell individually to friends and family. This no doubt had a big impact on how much I was able to raise as I was unable to reach a bigger market.
Some of the other projects included animal patterned bags, sponsored cycling, and ocean themed jewellery. In total, Year 8 raised over £2,500, all donated to 12 different charities.
Evan Brooke, Year 8
