Graduates take on challenges to raise over £20,000 for charity
Determined graduates from across Compass Group UK & Ireland, the UK’s largest food and support services firm, have completed grueling tasks from bungee jumping, to undertaking the Three Peaks challenge to raise more than £20,000 for charity.
The 2015 intake of graduates from across the business were separated into six groups for the £400 to £4k challenge. Each group was given £400 and set the task of making it into £4,000 for charity through planning, organising and executing their own projects within a year. Altogether, the 30 graduates managed to raise an impressive £20,636.
Kirsty Harris, Early Careers Coordinator at Compass Group UK & Ireland who is part of the graduate scheme, was part of a team that worked with 2nd Chance UK, a specialist ‘education to employment’ charity which supports unemployed 18-24 year olds into work.
Kirsty’s team worked with 20 2nd Chance associates, to provide an opportunity to gain experience working in a professional kitchen as they took on various roles including kitchen assistants and waiters as part of the “Secret Kitchen” pop-up restaurant series. Together, the team of graduates and 2nd Chance associates launched three pop-up restaurants between April and June, raising over £7k.
Kirsty Harris said: “It was great to be able to create these events from scratch, and our third and final event on HMS Belfast was truly breath-taking. Not only did we raise money, but we were able to give 2nd Chance students working on the event the opportunity to gain some hands on workplace experience.
“This was a great part of our graduate scheme, we have all learnt so much and it’s been extremely rewarding.”
Other exciting challenges that the graduates took part in include a team completing the Three Peaks Challenge raising over £1,800 and another group took on The Wolf Run which raised over £1,200. Various charities benefitted from the project including Duchenne UK, Cancer Research UK and 2nd Chance UK.
Gary Nice, Early Careers and Graduate Programme Manager, said: “I am so proud of our graduates and what an amazing achievement to have raised over £20,000 for a number of different charities.
“Our graduate scheme is about developing and investing in our talent, to help them have great careers in the future. The charity challenge element of their training shows the importance of our corporate responsibility work at Compass Group UK & Ireland, as well as giving the people involved an opportunity to think creatively in their teams about how they can raise some money for their chosen charity.”
Compass Group UK & Ireland employ approximately 30 graduates a year. The business recently celebrated the 2014 Graduate Cohort completing their two-year programme. This group will now be progressing further into the business as they look to develop their careers.
The graduate programmes began in 2013 and runs across all Compass Group UK & Ireland sectors. For more information on the graduate scheme visit www.jobastcompass.co.uk
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For more information contact:
UK Communications Team
Compass Group UK & Ireland
Uk.communications@compass-group.co.uk
01895 554 999
