Following their successful summer crowdfunding campaign, Winchester Creatives need businesses and organisations to step up and provide much-needed sponsorship.
Their ‘Mind the Gap’ crowdfunding campaign saw over 100 people provide over £6,000 of funding to get the Winchester Creatives initiative kicked off. The money raised will provide some training and mentoring to creative students across Hampshire.
Winchester Creatives is a not-for-profit social enterprise started by Richard Coope and Dan Benham to help graduates, who have seen their job prospects severely damaged by the pandemic and recession, to get in and get on in the creative industry. According to the The Resolution Foundation the level of UK unemployment will rise leaving 1 million under-25s out of a job for the foreseeable future.
The Winchester Creatives team are seeking to raise £50,000 in sponsorship. They are looking for five businesses to sponsor their five apprentices, to provide them with a living wage for the next five months so they can complete their Winchester Creatives apprenticeship.
The team are proud to have secured their first sponsor in Casella Family Brands, the company behind the hugely popular [Yellow Tail] Wines brand, one of largest wine brands in the UK today.
Kevin Chinn, Marketing Director for Casella Family Brands who own [Yellow Tail] says, ‘We were very impressed with the professionalism and dedication of the crowdfunding campaign and as a values-driven family brand, which recognises the support that creatives offer us in order to help with our marketing plans, we wanted to do something to help. So we have sponsored a Winchester Creatives apprentice which in turn will help us to help us identify new opportunities in the wine category and markets from a different and fresh perspective’.
Casella Family Brands have pledged £10,000 to the Winchester Creatives social enterprise to help provide a living wage for one of their funded apprentices for the next six months.
Winchester Creatives are now looking for four other businesses to help fund the scholarship program which will provide opportunities to five recent graduates to give them five months of experience working on live challenges set by the sponsors.
Dan Benham Co-founder of Winchester Creatives says, “Very often creative students are required to work for free in order to gain experience, and during the pandemic and recession this just seems to add insult to injury. We hope Winchester Creatives can go some way towards breaking down this barrier to entry. We’re delighted to have Casella Family Brands as a sponsor, and for them to kindly help our initiative.
As well as support from the Hampshire community, Winchester City Council, and a huge multinational organisation, Winchester Creatives have also caught the attention of some of high profile people.
Steve Brine, MP for Winchester says, ‘We know there are really tough times coming, and that’s going to be challenging for the job market, especially for young people. So if you’re a business and you want to support a young person to get a new career in the creative industries, search for Winchester Creatives.’
Any businesses who are interested in supporting the Winchester Creatives social enterprise are encouraged to get in touch with Richard Coope and Dan Benham through the website – www.winchestercreatives.co.uk