Haverhill Young Chamber meet the Chairman of Young Chamber UK and an Apprentice star

Members of Haverhill Young Chamber of Commerce impressed the Chairman of Young Chamber UK Neville Reyner and Apprentice star Claire Young at the town’s business awards.

Students from Haverhill in Suffolk  ran a fundraising enterprise just before the Haverhill Chamber of Commerce Business Awards to raise money for local St Nicholas Hospice.

They set up a wii sports competition and business card draw at the business awards reception on 14 May to capture business owners as they entered the event and persuaded them to part with their cash for charity.

Neville Reyner CBE, who is also President of the British Chambers of Commerce and Chairman of the Greater Cambridge Local Enterprise Partnership, was a guest at the awards and impressed by the students. He said: “It was a pleasure to be invited and to attend the Haverhill Business Awards evening in May this year organised by the Haverhill Chamber of Commerce, part of the Suffolk Chamber of Commerce who are leading on the “Suffolk - A Shared Community” initiative.

“I was particularly impressed and pleased to see in attendance students working as Young Chamber setting up their own enterprising idea to raise money for the St Nicholas Hospice. To be both enterprising and to serve such a worthwhile cause is very valuable to all those concerned and has to be highly commended.”

Haverhill Young Chamber of Commerce was set up to promote links with business, raise aspirations and employability skills, and bring the youth voice to the fore in local issues in Haverhill.

The Young Chamber comprises student representatives from Haverhill’s two colleges Samuel Ward Academy and Castle Manor Business & Enterprise College both rated ‘outstanding’ in their recent Ofsted inspections.

Over recent years we have seen the work of many enterprising members of the Young Chamber come to fruition and provide a way for greater numbers of their peers to develop the knowledge, skills and aptitudes they will need to be successful in their future.

For example, students recently celebrated the opening of the Castle Manor Young Chamber Bistro.

The Bistro allows them to practice the skills gained on their catering courses by working in a business environment. A proportion of the profits will go back into the Young Chamber to allow it to become self-funded and able to take on new projects in the future.

Sarah Howard, Chairman of Haverhill; Chamber of Commerce, said: “Haverhill Chamber of Commerce plays an active role in the Young Chamber, and encourages the business community to get involved in their activities. This year Chamber members have been involved with Castle Manor’s Enterprise Week which involved an Apprentice style competition to find outstanding young entrepreneurs and a Dragon’s Den during which the college went up against other schools in the area to pitch their business ideas to business leaders in Haverhill.”

Claire Young, runner up in series 4 of The Apprentice, hosted the awards at Chilford Hall, Linton, Cambridgeshire. Claire now runs two businesses and works closely with the NAS – National Apprenticeships Service and has an apprentice currently working for her. Claire also works with a number of organisations including the Young Chamber of Commerce, Young Enterprise and Enterprise UK.

She said: "Haverhill's Young Chamber are a real testament to the town. All the students I met were bright, articulate and not shy in coming forward. I have no doubt that the Young Chamber has developed their employability skills and probably helped their confidence because, like The Apprentice experience, you are thrown into 'unknown' situations and have to think on your feet. Keep up the good work!"