Sheffield Forgemasters’ Apprentices Form ‘Million Makers’ Fundraising Team

A team of ten apprentices from Sheffield Forgemasters have entered an entrepreneurial competition to raise more than £10,000 for The Prince’s Trust.

The young workers will take part in the Million Makers competition which challenges aspiring entrepreneurs to work together to turn initial funding into profit for The Prince’s Trust in the space of six months.

Sheffield Forgemasters’ team put together a business plan and presented it to chief executive Professor Graham Honeyman. They were then given the green light to host a number of charity events and compete against teams from other companies and organisations across the country.

Brad Freeman, 18, an apprentice in Sheffield Forgemasters’ South Machine Shop and Million Makers team member, said: “This is all for such a great cause, and we became very interested in entering a Forgemasters’ team.

“As a group we have come up with a business plan, and because we are all from different areas of Sheffield Forgemasters, doing this has enabled us to bond and get to know each other.

“Now we are in the competition, we want to win it.”

Along with Brad, the Sheffield Forgemasters’ team consists of young apprentices Chris Dobson, Kurt Screen, Harry Pearce-Hurst , Charlie Laycock, Daviyd Franckeiss, Dan Millington, Max Goodall, Liam Beevers and Jamie Dyson.

It is hoped that all teams competing will raise a total of £1million for The Prince’s Trust which helps thousands of unprivileged children and young adults each year.

The first of the team’s Million Makers fundraising events is taking on the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge on September 14.

They will then host a 20 team 5-a-side football tournament at Power League Sheffield (PITS) on October 12, before hosting a special band night at Magna on November 23.

January 2014 will see the final event to round off six months of fundraising in an evening to celebrate and recognise the achievements of businesses and apprentices.

Throughout the competition, the team will also be participating in various fundraising activities, such as bag packing in supermarkets and setting up donation stations throughout the company.

Rick Franckeiss, Group Training Officer at Sheffield Forgemasters, said: “We are extremely proud of our young apprentices for entering this competition and doing all they can to raise money for The Prince’s Trust.

“This is a young team and although they are very capable, they definitely have their work cut out with this project.

“I believe a mark of a strong individual or company is being able to think about others and we are encouraging the whole company to put its full weight behind this project.

“This initiative will not be successful without public support, so we are also urging people to reward these young entrepreneurs’ hard work with their support when it comes to fundraising for this great cause.”