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20/01/2010
Young people in the south east of England are set to benefit this year after a charity with a difference won a cash injection from a 'Dragon's Den' style competition for 14 - 19 year olds in the region to find the most innovative community business idea.
'Young Pioneers' - founded by Luke Lancaster, 14, from Battle, East Sussex - is a charity run by young people for young people to inspire them to become positive role models and improve their social welfare. The idea beat 9 shortlisted teams to the £5,000 prize in the 'Reaching for Gold' competition held by the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) managed by national charity Groundwork.
With its objective of making it 'cool to care' and to help their peers advance in life, Young Pioneers provides accredited training courses and education programmes that teach young people to take positive action. Luke Lancaster, Junior CEO of Young Pioneers said, "I started Young Pioneers when I was 12 years old, after being bullied at school. I wanted to show young people that it's 'Cool to Care' and that they can make a positive contribution to the lives of others. Young Pioneers helps young people with the key skills they need, and helps them develop and a 'can do' approach to life."
Joe McIndoe, Regional Manager of Groundwork South East said, "Luke and his Young Pioneers team are a fantastically inspirational example of the passion and desire young people have to change adult perceptions of them and help as many other teenagers raise their aspirations and strive for success."
The 'Reaching for Gold' competition was supported by BT, CISCO, Honda UK, Huawei Technologies, Intel Corporation, Legal and General, PricewaterhousecCoopers, Sony, Toshiba Information Systems and was delivered in partnership with The Prince's Trust and AbilityNet. Corporates collectively provided matched funding, prizes and mentoring to the 9 shortlisted teams worth a conservatively estimated £135k. This included a demonstration by ASIMO, the Honda Humanoid Robot, and a final at Windsor Castle.
The competition attracted more than 60 entries from young people who put forward ideas to benefit people who are disadvantaged by the area they live in, their circumstances or by disability.
