Christmas Charity Focus: The Prince's Trust
It's the most wonderful time of the year again when we get to launch our fabulous Christmas Card collection. As usual, here at Whistlefish we have chosen some very worthy causes to support with a donation arising from the sales of our 2020 Christmas card collection. We wanted to spend some time getting to know each of these charities, what they do and how you can support them.
Let's find out more about The Prince's Trust...
The Prince's Trust helps change young lives. They give practical and financial support, developing workplace skills such as confidence and motivation. They work with 11 to 30-year-olds who have struggled at school, have been in care, are long-term unemployed or have been in trouble with the law. They have helped more than 870,000 young people since 1976 and support 100 more each working day. More than three in four young people The Trust helped last year moved into work, education or training.
The history of The Prince's Trust
It all began in 1976, when HRH The Prince of Wales had a bold idea. Having completed his duty in the Royal Navy, His Royal Highness became dedicated to improving the lives of disadvantaged young people in the UK. He founded His Trust to deliver on that commitment.
You can learn about how the Trust has developed through the decades here
How The Prince’s Trust support young people
Many of the young people we help are in, or leaving, care, facing issues such as homelessness or mental health issues, or have been in trouble with the law
The trust have returned £1.4 billion in value to society through their help for disadvantaged young people over the last 10 years alone.
Their free programmes give young people the practical and financial support they need to stabilise their lives. They help them develop key skills while boosting their confidence and motivation so they can continue to dream big.
What sort of programmes do the Trust put on?
Starting a business
The Trust has helped over 86,000 young people to start their own business – and you could be next.The Trust has an Enterprise programme for 18 to 30-year-olds living in the UK to help turn big ideas into a reality. This is exactly the programme that our founder Lyn Thompson used to help turn Whistlefish into a reality nearly 25 years ago!
What's involved in Enterprise?
Got a business in mind or want to explore an idea? From training and mentoring support to funding and resources, the trust is there to help you become the best entrepreneur you can be. The free Enterprise programme takes place at centres across the country and is broken down into three stages. If you’d prefer to learn flexibly with online mentor support, sign up to Enterprise Online.
Stage 1: Info session
The programme kicks off with a free information session in your local area. You’ll be told how the trust can support you and, if you're still keen, they’ll invite you onto their four-day interactive workshop.
Stage 2: Workshop
Over four days you'll get to meet other like-minded people. You'll also have the chance to tap into a business adviser, covering everything from business planning and marketing to sales, budgeting and tax.
Stage 3: Build your business
After the workshop it's time to start building your business. The Trust will provide a mentor to support you as you plan and test your ideas. You'll even have the opportunity to apply for funding.
Stage 4: Launch
Before launch, you'll present your business plan to their Business Launch Group. Their job is to ensure your idea is viable and sustainable. Don’t worry, there are no dragons here. It’s designed to be a positive experience for you – and to ensure there are no weak points in your plan. There’s also additional start-up finance support if you need it. You can find out how this works here.
Getting a job
Last year the Trust helped almost 6,000 young people secure jobs through our Get into courses. If you’re aged 16 to 30 and are looking for ‘on the job’ experience and training, they can help.
They also have a programme called Get Started where you Gain careers advice from experts such as Premier League, ASOS and Sony in a week while taking part in a team project that gives you a taste of what you love.
How you can support the Trust
Your support is life-changing.
With youth employment set to reach one million, vulnerable young people are facing a crisis. They may be homeless, battling mental health problems, have become caught up in the criminal justice system or lost hope for the future after a long stretch of unemployment. The Trust remain committed to supporting these young people who are in danger of being left behind. But they need your help to reach millions more young people.
You can support the Trust by…
There is a wealth of information available about the Trust, how to access the help you may need and all the good work that they do on The Prince's Trust website. Click here to explore this wonderful charity in more detail.
Wow! What an incredible charity and one that we have to thank for supporting our fledgling business all those years ago.
If you'd like to support The Prince's Trust by buying some of our Christmas cards, you can view the full collection here.
