Sponsors
Week 1
Team name: Kindness Crew
Tell us what you have been doing this week
We had out first meeting to share our initial thoughts on what we could do for our business. Marc couldn't join us in person but he sent us a video. Some of the ideas we had included making various things to sell and providing some kind of service to the local community. We decided on supporting Calderwood House in Egremont by providing new residents with Kindness Kits. These would be bags containing maybe a toothbrush, tooth paste, shampoo, shower gel etc. We thought we could also make cards with encouraging messages to put inside.
What did you learn this week?
Some of us were not aware of Calderwood House in Egremont and what they did.
We learnt that not everything is possible to achieve with the resources that we have.
What did you find difficult this week?
We found it difficult at times to share our views because people weren't listening.
Week 2
Tell us what you have been doing this week
We spent some time creating logos this week. We wanted it to reflect our plan for the business. We talked about what we could make the bags out of and thought we could use material and sew them. Some of us thought that would be take too much time and that we would be better with paper bags. We can decorate the bags to make them look nice, maybe even add our logo. We carried out some research online at the price of things that we might like to add to our kits.
What did you learn this week?
That we need to think about the prices of the products so we get best value for money and the bags can contain what we need them to.
What did you find difficult this week?
We found it difficult agreeing on the kinds of things we could sell to make some extra money for the contents of the bags.
Week 3
Tell us what you have been doing this week
This week we had to decide on our chosen logo. We wanted it be show love and kindness. Poppy designed the winning logo. We will stick the logo to the bags.
Ember has been working on felted hearts at home. These hearts will be popped in the bags too.
We also talked about roles that we would like to have in the business. We found out about the roles on offer and volunteered for the one we thought we would be best at.
We talked again about the contents of our bags and where we might buy the products from.
We started to work on our business plan.
What did you learn this week?
We learnt about the different roles that are involved in running a business.
We learnt that not everyone is happy about decisions that are made but we have to accept that and move on.
What did you find difficult this week?
We found choosing a logo that everyone liked difficult.
The five finalists for the logo.
The winning logo after being digitalised.
Week 4
Tell us what you have been doing this week
We talked about how we were going to fund our Kindness Kits. We thought we could ask parents to sponsor a kit so we had to make a decision on how much to ask for. After the research we had done on the cost of things we decided on £10. We also made a plan to make and sell things to fund more Kindness Kits.
We know we have to purchase paper bags with our £50 start up. We thought it would be a good idea to make a couple of bags so we can show anyone who wants to sponsor what they look like.
We also checked with Calderwood House whether they thought the kits were a good idea. They said yes.
What did you learn this week?
When we first started talking about how much we should ask for some of the group suggested £5 so we talked about how much the contents of the bag were going to cost. This made some of us realise that this wouldn't be enough money to ask for.
What did you find difficult this week?
Trying to come to a decision about how much to ask for to sponsor the bags.
Week 5
Tell us what you have been doing this week
This week we have been away on our residential all week but we have talked about the things that we will be making during half term ready for the sale after half term.
What did you learn this week?
What did you find difficult this week?
The advert which went out on Class Dojo.
Week 6 - Half Term
Tell us what you have been doing this week
What did you learn this week?
What did you find difficult this week?
Week 7
Tell us what you have been doing this week
This week has been a busy one. It started with a visit from Janet from Calderwood House who came to talk to us about the work they do there. We spent some time creating crafts for the sale on Friday. Then we had a visit from Marc who came out to check on our progress. We made up our first six Kindness Kits and had our first sponsor donations from parents. The week ended with the sale which made £229!
What did you learn this week?
That time management is important. Everything had to be done ready for the sale at the end of the week. It was important that our team members delivered on what they said they were going to make so we had the stock for the sale.
What did you find difficult this week?
We found the sale difficult as there were so many children wanting to buy things - which was good.
Creating and packing up the first bags.
Sale day
This is what our pockets hearts look like. Ember made all of these herself.
Week 8
Tell us what you have been doing this week
We finalised the last few Kindness Kits that we made up. We were missing some cards so had to make those. We had 14 Kindness Kits to be delivered to Calderwood House. Rowan, our MD, Sasha, his assistant and Ember, who created the felt hearts, delivered the bags.
What did you learn this week?
We learnt that it was important for the quality control team to check the bags. We had toiletries left over and shouldn't have.
What did you find difficult this week?
Fitting in dropping the Kindness Kits off at Calderwood House as we had a very busy week.
Week 9
Tell us what you have been doing this week
What did you learn this week?
What did you find difficult this week?
For pupils to answer:
In one sentence please tell us what bright stars has meant to you?
We really enjoyed running a business and were happy to help people in our community who need it.
For teachers to answer:
Can you tell us the impact this programme has had on your school?
The programme has opened the children's eyes to suffering in our area and gave them the opportunity to make a difference.
Please provide your business plan.
Please provide your marketing plan.
Please provide your finance report/template.
Charity name/money donated to.
Calderwood House
Final profit (minus the £50 seed funding).
££236.78
Prize categories and reasons
Best community engagement
This project has empowered young people to become active citizens, strengthened community connections and demonstrated how collective action can make a genuine difference to people's lives. We believe this makes our project an excellent example of meaningful and impactful community engagement.
