Business students at Cornwall College Camborne have been fundraising for Children's Hospice South West by holding a non-stop 36 hour lecture which started at 8am on Tuesday 17th and finished at 8pm on Wednesday 18th.
As part of their degree the students have to organise the entire fundraising event, including the sponsorship from local companies, devising a name; ‘Cornish BIG Ideas', marketing of the event and general event management on the day. This year they received corporate sponsorship from Keirons Hair Salon, Tyacks Hotel, Tekhe at Cornwall College and Next.
Their tutor and Curriculum Area Manager for Business at Cornwall College Camborne, Dr Bryan Mills, was the main attraction of the fundraising by lecturing on a number of business and enterprise topics for 36 hours! Bryan said: "Our students did an amazing job of organising this event for such a great cause. Lecturing for 36 hours was tiring but the support I received from staff, students and the public made it all possible."
So far, the Cornish BIG Ideas team have raised over £1300 which surpasses their original target of £1000, and there is still money coming in. £250 of the money raised was collected in sponsorship from one student, Lewis Williams, who was present for the entire 36 hours.
The Chris Evans BBC Radio 2 breakfast programme picked up on the fundraising event through Facebook and this has helped the team reach and exceed their target for Children's Hospice South West. One of the Cornish BIG Ideas students Rachel Craze, from Newquay, said: "The event gave us the opportunity to put theory into practice through marketing, financing, team-work and event management. The marketing received a huge boost from the Chris Evans radio show as well as BBC Radio Cornwall who spoke to Bryan during the Wednesday afternoon of the lecture." Fellow student Kate Treseder, from Truro, said: "Whilst organising and participating in the 36 hour lecture for Children's Hospice South West, we gained valuable experience by working as a team and networking with local businesses. The event also highlighted the significance of using social media as a powerful communication and marketing tool. Dr Bryan Mills is a remarkable lecturer and an inspiration to all of us."
The students invited a representative, Mary Murfin, from Children's Hospice South West to accept the fundraising total on behalf of Cornwall College Camborne. Mary said: "This is a great effort and fantastic amount of money raised by the business students here at Camborne. The money will go towards the running of the hospice at Little Harbour, which currently requires £1.3 million to run."
Cornwall College Camborne's new Head, Don McKenzie, attended the fundraising lecture in the early hours of Wednesday morning to show his support and said: "I got up at 1am and went to Bryan's lecture for 2 hours. Even though he had been going since 8am the day before, he was still delivering all the information with interesting examples and enthusiasm. It's great to see staff and students working together to raise money for charity in a different way and I was impressed with the students running the event for 36 hours in shifts. Bryan and the students have done a wonderful job and raised a good amount of money for Children's Hospice South West."
Donations can still be made to Children's Hospice South West via the website: www.justgiving.com/Cornishbigideas
