Charity given a helping hand by enterprising students

The not-for-profit organisation, which is based in Hillsborough, works with the vulnerable and socially excluded, preparing them to return to the workplace.

One of their principal income streams is giving fresh life to redundant office and home technology, with a new community computer shop just opened at the charity's headquarters in Roselle Street, Hillsborough.

Birkdale sixth formers Richard Achahboun and Will Tickell are both members of the school's Entrepreneurial Development Programme, part of the extremely successful Birkdale Enterprise Club.

The club has won more than 12 regional and national awards including the prestigious Most Enterprising School Environment Award at the national Tenner Challenge in London.

Together, the boys have come up with a new marketing strategy, aimed at boosting Aspire's profitability and helping to raise the organisation's profile within the business community.

One of the key features of that strategy is a campaign to get Birkdale families and friends to donate their unwanted and broken computer equipment to Aspire.

An internal team is in place to collect equipment then protect and secure data working with professional specialists, Weeecyclers of Chesterfield.

The external team is simultaneously expanding the campaign to other schools across the city as well as to businesses across the region and nationally.

"We were looking at who we could help, as part of our Entrepreneurs Programme, to develop a market and Aspire Sheffield was the ideal choice, said 17-year-old Will.

"It's been a great learning experience for us and it's great that Aspire has faith in our ideas."

Aspire general manager Dave Metcalfe said: "Birkdale's involvement is absolutely fantastic and we are very pleased that they chose to support an organisation as small as ours.

"By doing this they will introduce Aspire Sheffield to a broader audience and hopefully help to establish even better links with the wider business community."

City businesses and major organisations already supporting Aspire Sheffield include Irwin Mitchell, Sheffield Hallam University and Hallam University Students' Union, Veolia Environmental Services and the University of Sheffield.

To support the campaign or to find out more about Aspire Sheffield services contact Dave Metcalfe on 0114 2853788.