Ricky School Success for Watford Mencap
Three Year 9 girls from Rickmansworth School did a sterling job at the Youth and Philanthropy Initiative (YPI) Grand Final. Sponsored by Capital Shopping Centres Group PLC, it took place on Tuesday 24th April at Rickmansworth School. Monique Page, Mariam Abbas and Aisha Waheed beat 6 other finalists to the first prize of £3000 for their chosen charity, Watford Mencap.
They were picked to represent their class after doing a presentation on Watford Mencap and the services we offer, in particular, the children’s Centre. They then competed with a group from each of the other Year 9 classes who all had a chosen charity to talk about.
The YPI ask each group of students to choose a charity and create a presentation of 10 minutes outlining what the charity does and explaining why the charity needs the donations and what they would do with it. The groups had to research all the necessary information, arrange visits to the charity to interview staff and service users to gain a thorough understanding of the services to enable them to present well.
All of the presentations were fantastic and there were some amazing charities being represented, so the group had very tough competition. They really did us proud.
Erin Walsh, Marketing Manager of the Harlequin Centre was one of the judges. When asked to comment on the results she said. ‘It was such a hard decision to make as all of the presentations were of such a high calibre. However, Miriam, Aisha and Monique gave a well-structured and emotional presentation. I really felt that I got a clear understanding of Watford Mencap's work and the girls really demonstrated what the £3000 would mean to Watford Mencap. I was also blown away with the amount of contact the girls had and how much time they had spent either at Mencap day centres or the shop’.
The Youth and Philanthropy Initiative (YPI) is an international programme that aims to develop the community leaders of the future. The winning charities, pupils and teachers from all over the UK will attend the annual celebration in Notting Hill, London on the 2nd July 2012. This is when Watford Mencap will be presented with the cheque.
Posted on Friday, 27th April 2012