Boston Charitable Foundation has announced a substantial donation to Junior Achievement, Isle of Man, a local charity dedicated to helping young people gain the skills necessary when leaving full-time education. The donation forms part of a larger charitable initiative supported by the Boston Charitable Foundation, a philanthropic enterprise which was established in 2008 and through which Boston Group aims to play its part in engaging with and supporting the local community.
The Boston Charitable Foundation has pledged the impressive sum of ?30,000 to Junior Achievement which will be donated over the next three years in order to assist with the charity’s Company Programme, a schools initiative which gives students the opportunity to experience running their own company. The programme constitutes just one of a range of similar initiatives produced by Junior Achievement designed to link education to employment on the Island and furnish students with various skills necessary for later life - including financial management, increased self-esteem and confidence, increased awareness of business ethics and sustainability, decision making and entrepreneurial skills.
Students are given the opportunity to manage their own company over the course of one academic year, during which they are required to elect a board of directors from amongst their peers and raise share capital before developing, financing and marketing a product or service of their choice. At the end of each year, students set up trade stands and present their company to a panel of judges. This culminates in an annual awards ceremony, with the winning team being given the opportunity to present at the European Competition.
Sue Cook, Chief Executive of Junior Achievement Isle of Man, commented on the donation: “In this climate of high unemployment, our young people need to be more adaptable than ever before. Junior Achievement's Company Programme (previously known as Young Enterprise) gives hundreds of students each year the opportunity to prepare for their working life through the experience of running their own company. Research shows that 15% of students who participate in this entrepreneurial programme go on to start their own business compared to the national average of 6%. Boston’s generous donation means that we have the funds to recruit and train volunteer business mentors to support the students and to provide all the materials that they need to run their own business. We estimate that more than 600 young people will benefit from this programme over the next three years.”
Over the past academic year alone, Junior Achievement has run over 183 classes in 19 different schools, reaching over 4,500 local students aged between 5 and 18. Managed by Chief Executive, Sue Cook, the charity is supported by a team of over 300 volunteers including a dedicated team of advisors and mentors from local businesses. With this in mind, Group Commercial Director, Bruce Elliot, has also volunteered to become a specialist business mentor with the hope of bringing his extensive experience within the financial and eGaming sectors to the programme and helping students realise their full entrepreneurial potential.
Director of Business Development at Boston Group, Katherine Ellis, also commented: “On behalf of Boston Group I would like to congratulate Junior Achievement for its commitment to both the local educational and business communities. Fostering innovation and entrepreneurial spirit in today’s school leavers as well as working towards improving the connection between school and professional life is now more important than ever. We are certain that Bruce will prove to be a valuable addition to the charity’s mentorship scheme and are proud to support such a worthy and timely cause in whatever way we can.”
Photo Caption – Katherine Ellis of Boston Group (far right) and Ruth Robinson of Boston Charitable Foundation hand over the cheque to Sue Cook of Junior Achievement (far left)
