Six north-east schools have come together to raise more than £33,000 for a successful charity initiative; the Jasmine Charity Challenge.
Representatives from Northfield Academy, St Machar Academy, Torry Academy, Kemnay Academy, the Gordon Schools in Huntly and Banff Academy, attended the final event of this year’s challenge at Cineworld in Union Square recently.
Participants from each school spoke about their specific year-long fundraising campaign, with a member from each participating secondary presented with a pupil of excellence award that recognised their contribution throughout the last 12 months.
Attendees were also treated to an inspiring talk from Aberdeen Football Club’s vice chairman George Yule, who encouraged pupils to continue the development of their enterprise skills as they look to enter the working world.
Danny Cowie, group managing director of the Jasmine Holdings Group, said: “The energy and enthusiasm the pupils have shown over the past 12 months has been outstanding; they have contributed fantastic ideas, and shown a sense of real teamwork.
“The participants have shown determination to raise funds for their nominated charities, which is great to see. However, there is also another side to the challenge in introducing pupils to enterprise. We are always available to offer advice and support to the teams, and we know from past experience that they have benefited greatly from this.”
The Jasmine Charity Challenge aims to introduce academy pupils to the world of enterprise as teams are invited to come up with innovative ways of supporting nominated charities.
So far, the Jasmine Charity Challenge has helped raise over £140,000 for a range of good causes over the last four years, bringing a number of north-east schools together with the region’s business community. Jasmine’s total fundraising efforts have now exceeded £220,000 since 2002.
The initiative is organised by the Aberdeen-based Jasmine Holdings Group, a portfolio of strong local brands including James Aiken Engineering Solutions, Printagraph, Jasmine Property Investments, Revolve Systems, Citrus:Mix and The Barber’s Pole.