On 11th December 2009 five Envision School Teams from around Leeds had the opportunity to pitch their ideas for community projects to a panel of businesses and community leaders for the chance to win up to £500.
Each team had around 15 minutes to present their ideas before being quizzed by the panel on how and where they would spend the money should they win.
Pitch 4 Change follows the format of the popular TV show Dragons Den but with an eco twist. All of the projects pitched at the event aim to make a positive impact either environmentally or socially and aim to benefit the school, the students and the local community.
The Pitch 4 Change panel featured business and community leaders from across Leeds;
- Jeremy Piercy, Founder of Shared Earth
- Nicky McEnery, Recruitment Manager, TD Waterhouse
- Ken Williams, Business Partner, Yorkshire Bank, Leeds Financial Solutions Centre
- Mike Harvey, Partner, Yorkshire Bank, Leeds Financial Solutions Centre
- Steph Slater, Young Person from Envision
- Julie Cullen, Business in the Community
The 5 Schools that successfully reached the final stage of Pitch 4 Change were;
Priesthorpe School
Students at Priesthorpe are concerned about a distinct lack of community cohesion in their local area. With Envision they plan to use their insight into community issues to produce a documentary which gets to the bottom of the social divisions in their local area by highlighting inconsistencies within media reporting, misconceptions, stereotypes and ignorance. They plan to address these problems with a simple presentation of the facts. They hope that by focusing on what we have in common they can help bring people together.
Update: The dragons were intrigued by Broken Identity’s approach to the sensitive issue of racism and community cohesion in their local area and were positive about the solution suggested. They gave the team practical advice on how to focus more on the promotion and distribution of their documentary. As well as awarding them the full £500, Jeremy Piercy put himself forward as the team’s mentor which was received with enthusiasm. Furthermore, a guest at the event, Harvey Ascott, Project Director at educational production company Leeds Bridge, offered support to the team on the spot!
Abbey Grange School 
The ‘Waste busters’ at Abbey Grange were fed up with the littering, waste and lack of recycling in their local area. They are committed to getting recycling facilities for their school and encouraging people to use these facilities through a publicity campaign which should also have an impact on the high levels of littering in the local area. They also plan to hold various events to raise awareness about waste and recycling.
Update: A great pitch from the girls resulted in an award of £250 as well as the support and guidance of two dragons; Jeremy Piercy and Mike Harvey! Although they were not offered the full funding requested, Mike and Jeremy’s background and contacts in the recycling industry more than make up for this.
Pudsey Grangefield School
With fantastic media skills and a giant pinch of enthusiasm the team at Pudsey Grangefield have created an amazing project in no time at all. Their focus is on stamping out bullying in the lower school by creating a safe space where people can seek advice. They’ve made an awesome film and presentation about the effects of bullying which they are currently showing to years 7, 8 & 9. The team were looking for skills training to be able to mentor younger years and hope to be able to create a support network which can be passed on to next year’s 6th formers.
Update: The 'Help in Here' team impressed the dragons with their dynamic pitch, receiving high praise for their self-made anti-bullying film. The panel were so impresed that two of the Dragons, Julie Cullen and Nicky McEnery, put themselves forward to mentor the team through the next stages of their project which the students were ecstatic about.
Primrose High School
The Envision Team at Primrose High are passionate about promoting greater awareness and understanding of different cultures and religions within their school, among staff and students alike. Over 40 languages are spoken by students at Primrose High, and the team pitched to hold a celebration of culture and religion which will promote greater community cohesion within the school, and extending out into the local community.
Update: An attention grabbing and wholly impressive pitch from the 'MAD Crew' saw them receive £415 of their requested £500 with an additional £85 being dependant on them increasing the diversity of their group. Nicky McEnery was impressed by the pitch and offered her support and guidance which the team gratefully accepted. Her suggestion that their event could become a yearly celebration was received with enthusiasm.
Lawnswood School
The Lawnswood Envision Team pitched to run a programme of fun arts based activities for children who are in care. They hoped that their pitch would secure the opportunity for their school to forge better links with a local children’s home, by providing the children with the chance to spend time with older students whilst taking part in a fun programme of arts based activities.
Update: Although only a small team, students from Lawnswood convinced the dragons that through outsourcing and hard work they would be able to fulfil their ambitious pitch and deliver tangible results for an extremely worthy cause. Now that they have been awarded the full £500 they requested, and are supported by Ken Williams, their project can only go from strength to strength.
Pitch 4 Change Leeds is kindly supported by the Tellus Mater Foundation.
