Empowering students to give back: Kirsty Jackson mentors students in the IoD £10 Challenge

Kirsty Jackson, partner at JW Hinks, has been working with a group of university students in the Institute of Directors (IoD) £10 Challenge. The initiative aims to empower students to raise as much money as possible while giving back to their community.

Kirsty mentored four groups of five or six students, using her expertise to help them create and market a product or service that would generate a profit. With Metro Bank providing an initial £10 in funding, each team of students had to appoint a named Managing Director and Finance Director, plan, design, create, market, and sell their product or service. At the challenge’s conclusion, after returning the £10 in initial funding to Metro Bank, each team was required to donate their profits to a Wolverhampton charity.

As a mentor, Kirsty inspired and encouraged the students to be creative and strategic in their fundraising efforts. Then, as a judge, she was able to determine how successful they (and she) had been.

The challenge provided a unique opportunity for Kirsty to give back to the community and share her knowledge with young, aspiring entrepreneurs. As a mentor, Kirsty played an integral role in guiding the students, imparting valuable advice on time management, collaboration, and marketing and sales strategies.

With the objective to generate as much profit as possible while also creating a meaningful impact on their community, Kirsty challenged the teams to think outside the box and come up with creative solutions to their fundraising problems. Through her mentorship, the students were able to learn from a seasoned professional, work on their leadership, and develop critical-thinking skills.

An important lesson for the students was the significance of collaborating. As someone who has worked with various businesses in her time at JW Hinks, Kirsty understands the value of teamwork in achieving success. By collaborating with each other, the students were able to share ideas, time, and resources to create something that is greater than the sum of their individual parts. Most significantly, Kirsty underscored the need for each team member to play to their strengths and contribute uniquely to their fundraising efforts for the project to truly succeed.

Kirsty emphasised the need for teams to stay disciplined, manage time wisely, and be strategic in their approach, resulting in exceptional products and services that resonated with their audience and generated charity profits amid limited time and resources.

In the end, Kirsty and the other judges awarded three prizes: one for the most amount of money raised (£336), one for the most creative solution, and one which was simply down to the judges’ choice.

Kirsty’s mentorship was invaluable in the success of the IoD £10 Challenge. Supporting and empowering young entrepreneurs and future leaders is a great way to give back to the community. These initiatives provide opportunities for people with a heart for bringing about positive change to come together, share ideas, and create something that is greater than the sum of its parts. Kirsty’s mentorship helped shape the young people involved in this challenge for the better, giving them the skills, confidence, and experience to run successful businesses that make a meaningful impact on society. Initiatives like the IoD £10 Challenge are essential for developing the future leaders of our society and creating a better, more just world. We are very proud to have played a part in it, and pleased that Kirsty had so much to contribute.

If you would like to discuss JW Hinks’ approach to charity, or how you can get involved in supporting your local community, please get in touch with JW Hinks on 0121 456 0190.