Steel City News August 2015

Steel City News

Friday’s Sorted

The National Conference timetable!

Nets Bingo

Making an impact with Bingo!

Run With Us

Read the experiences from the runners

August 2015

Contents Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4-5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 -9 Page 10 - 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 15 - 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 - 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23

Welcome from 2015 President JCI Sheffield Annual Dinner Sponsorship 100 Years Networking Wednesday & Public Speaking JCI Membership Benefits The Team: Gareth Carson Let’s Get Physical Events Diary Business Academy Spotlight on a Trainer - Kate Senter Age UK - Digital Champions JCI Yorkshire JCI UK National Convention 2015 Nothing But Nets Bingo Blog Afternoon Tea Blog Ryan Pilkington | Fashion Design

Hello there

be the CHANGE

Its been another jam packed few weeks and you certainly can never say a month as a JCI President is ever dull! I’ve enjoyed Yorkshire Day celebrations hosted by JCI Doncaster which was a great excuse to indulge in some pie eating; taken part in filming a promo video for JCI UK National Conference being hosted by JCI Barnsley (watch this space!); refreshed my debating skills at our recent training; survived doing the Yorkshire Three Peaks and started fostering a dog from the RSPCA Sheffield!

Community - I am delighted that our recent fundraising afternoon tea raised over £500 for our 4 official charities this year: Age UK Sheffield, RSPCA Sheffield, SAFE@LAST and Nothing But Nets. We also raised over £150 for Nothing But Nets at our bingo evening which was great fun.

We are focusing now on recruiting members to volunteer as ‘digital champions’ to teach older people basic IT skills for Age UK Sheffield and also preparing for our charity ‘Bake Off’ on 19th September. Next month we will be launching our ‘pet food bank’ for RSPCA Sheffield.

Business - Our monthly networking Wednesday at Bloo 88 on West Street continues to attract a good number of members and non members. We are piloting charging £5 for this event which includes a drink, some nibbles (pizza) as well as a donation to our chosen charities which is a bargain price! Let us know what you think of this new approach.

We are very pleased to welcome Bloo 88 as a ‘friend of JCI Sheffield’ to our group of fantastic Patrons and look forward to continuing working with them throughout the year and beyond. Preparations for our brand new Business Academy on 24th and 25th October are going well and will be open for bookings very soon.

International - One of my favourite aspects to JCI is the international travel and networking.

Each month a few of us from JCI Sheffield have a ‘google hangouts’ call with our twins from JCI Mayo, usually on the first Tuesday of the month. If you fancy joining in, please drop me a line. Its always good to catch up with our twins and also share ideas and good practice.

I can’t quite believe August is here already and it won’t be long until JCI World Congress is upon us 3rd-8th November in Japan this year! JCI Sheffield has a bursary available that members can apply for by 1st September to support the cost of the congress ticket. JCI UK also have 3 bursaries available for members within their first year of membership – deadline to apply for these is 1st October. For more information about any of these, please get in touch with me.

Training JCI Sheffield were proudly represented by our member Kate Senter on the training team at European Academy in Sweden. This course is aimed at incoming local Deputy Presidents and brings together about 80 delegates from all over Europe. Looking at some of the facebook coverage, really brought back fond memories for me when I took part as a delegate a year ago!

Best wishes,

Mark Smith 2015 President JCI Sheffield mark.smith@jcisheffield.org.uk

Presidential History JCI Sheffield President 2009

Name: Lisa Price What year did you join JCI? 2005 Why did you join?

What made you want to be President of JCI Sheffield?

I love challenging myself, I thought it would be a fantastic and unique opportunity to gain some valuable experience and I wanted to develop myself as a leader as well as giving something back to the organisation.

What was your biggest learning as President?

My biggest learning was a greater understanding of the complexities of working within a team, it really brought to life how people are not all motivated in the same way. In addition I learned that where there are challenges there is always a real chance to learn and develop.

COLLABORATE

MOTIVATE

Having recently graduated I wanted to bridge the gap between studying in Sheffield and being in business. Initially I looked up Sheffield Chamber of Commerce then I stumbled upon a JCI Sheffield open evening and hearing the range of opportunties I just knew it was for me!

IMPACT

CONNECT

As part of our look through our chambers long history we had a chat with JCI Sheffield 2009 President Lisa Price to find out what made her join JCI, why she became President and more!

INVEST

What advice would you give to members?

Just make the most of every opportunity, the PD sessions and events are such high quality you’d be pushed to find them anywhere else for such little money. Although don’t just turn up! In my experience learning by doing is the most effective way to climb the experience curve so get stuck in with the behind the scenes organisation, whether it be organising a one-off event or joining the Council Team!

Will we be seeing you at the 2015 Annual Dinner?

I am so grateful for my time in JCI Sheffield, I joined to expand my contacts in the City I live and instead made friends locally, regionally, nationally and internationally. I’ve been lucky enough to travel across Britain as well as to Sweden, Hungary and India. And when applying for my current job as Marketing Manager at Spa 1877 my boss was really impressed that JCI was on my CV!

MOTIVATE

IMPACT

Anything else you would like to mention?

CONNECT

Great question, I love it! Maybe, you’ll have to wait and see :-)

COLLABORATE

INVEST

be the CHANGE

The Team Each edition will give you the chance to meet a member of the 2015 council team for JCI Sheffield. You can learn all about their passions, thoughts and more! In this issue it’s our 2015 Deputy President Gareth Carson!

Name: Gareth Carson How long have you been a member of JCI? 3 years How long have you been on the council team?

2 Years Current role: Deputy President What are your hobbies?

Acting, JCI, watching films and TV. Why JCI for you?

JCI has many fantastic opportunities and has completely changed my life! What started it off for me was the aspect of meeting new people and getting the opportunity to develop myself.

Tell us about your role: My role this year is to support the President (Mark Smith). It has been a great honour to work with Mark and I am very happy that he will be handing over the chamber at the end of the year.

I am very excited to start my year especially after Mark has completed a very successful six months so far. I have had the great pleasure of organising the ‘Through the Decades’ Annual Dinner this year for the chamber which will be held in Cutlers’ Hall, an iconic venue in Sheffield.

If you would like to book for this please see our website and our events page.

What is your ambition within JCI? At the moment it is to have a very successful 2016. However after that I will be looking forward to a year as the Immediate Past President and to support the President and chamber in that year. Then who knows, but my JCI journey will continue...

Proudest moment at JCI (so far!)

Competing in Extempore (off the cuff public speaking) at a national level and winning. Also it was amazing to be present in Malta and see my great friend Mark Smith win most outstanding JCI member in Europe and then to be skyped in to see him win most outstanding JCI member in the world at Germany.

Most embarrassing moment: When I have been a pantomime dame on stage and my skirt fell off exposing my bloomers to 200 people in the audience!

What is your occupation?

Beauty Therapist.

Claim to Fame?

Meeting ‘Steps’ after a concert when I was 16 and then having to go and sit my RE GCSE the next morning on very little sleep as I was excited all night and couldn’t sleep.

What advice would you give to someone thinking of joining their local JCI council team?

What do you have to loose. You only get the opportunity to develop yourself your career and your skills further. Give it a shot!!!

@gstersbeauty

gareth.casron@jcisheffield.org.uk

Let’s Get Physical

Members from around the JCI Yorkshire region donned their running shoes & took on the challenge of running 10K for the MS Trust. We caught up with some of the runners to find out how they found the experience.

I don’t like running, I’ve never liked running and I still don’t like running. However peer pressure can get you agreeing to all kinds of crazy things. So I agreed to run the Leeds 10K for Run with Us along with 12 other JCI members and randomly my Mum. The run was as expected - hot and tiring. The highlight of the day (apart from finishing alive) was definitely the cheering and support from everyone, who somehow escaped running, yet still got up early on a Sunday.

Fiona Silverster, JCI Rotherham Debbie and Joe Worthington from JCI Barnsley, set themselves a challenge this year – to run 10K and raise £10,000 for the MS Trust after Debbie was diagnosed with the disease. Chambers from across JCI Yorkshire and indeed JCI UK have been supporting their challenge. We caught up with several members from JCI across Yorkshire to hear from the brilliant “Run With Us” team.

On 12th July, 20 brave/foolish folk take part in 10k races in Leeds, London and Atlanta; all raising money for the MS Trust. For some it was their first (and last!) 10k race, for others it was a milestone on their journey to being more healthy and for the rest it was a fresh challenge to maintain their fitness and help the rest of the team to go the distance.

Not content with one race in a week, some of the team even managed two races, when the opportunity to run a second 5k or 10k with a local running club presented itself! This also gave one of the team the chance to cement their achievement of “couch to 5k” with their race debut and a vow to take on 10k in the foreseeable future.

Keeping up morale were a merry band of supporters that got out of bed (very) early to cheer on the runners on Sunday morning and rocked up after a long day at work to cheer on a Wednesday evening. Knowing that we’d see – and hear – these guys en route was a massive boost, even though they managed to get lots of photos of us looking less glamorous than usual!

Beyond boosting our fundraising by over £1000, every single one of them did something amazing that contributed to our Worthington500k Challenge – they believed in us and they should all be very proud of what they achieved and the part they played.

Enough of me wittering on though, let’s hear from them!

This week I have experienced both being a cheerleader and a runner. I never thought I would be getting up on a Sunday morning to cheer on a group friends at the Leeds 10k. A supporter gets to play the game of Where’s Wally or in this case, where’s the MS Trust vest! It is a quite tiring job along with clapping! It was great to see all the runners finish especially those who completed the couch to 10k challenge, as it was their 10k debut.

At the start of the year I decided I wanted to do the couch to 5k challenge, with the Nostell 5k as my target. On the night I was joined by bad cop Fi and good cop Debbie. Both got me round the 5.8k route… Yes we did 800m extra! I was overwhelmed with the support on the night and chuffed to bits completing my challenge. Adamant I was never going to 10k, I’ve now set my sights on the Lincoln 10k next spring and joining the park run community for a weekly 5k.

Thanks you Debbie and Joe for inspiring me to run, I am enjoying it and you are doing a great job of fundraising and creating awareness of the MS Trust! “Little Tracy” Anderson Before: This is the scariest and hardest thing I will have ever done.

After: I’m so proud of myself and everyone else. I also feel very dead. Thanks for all your support; I can’t believe I actually did it! Gareth “Selfie Queen” Carson Slightly disappointed in my time and I’m hurting badly, but I did it and I’m proud to have run with such a great group of people for such a great cause. Katie “Former Selfie Queen” Ogley

be the CHANGE #JCIVolunteering

Yorkshire 3 Peaks

I have done a wide range of weird and wacky things to raise funds for SAFE@LAST but I have to say the Yorkshire Three Peaks was the hardest thing I’ve done! I’ve slept rough in car parks all over South Yorkshire on numerous occasions, taken part in an adventure challenge which involved wading through the lake in Rother Valley, dressed up as the charity mascot, walking in the Sheffield Pride parade in the boiling heat and even trekked across the Sahara desert for a week. I have to say none of this, not even the Sahara, had prepared me for such a tough physical and mental challenge!

I joined 22 others trekkers, including fellow JCI Sheffield Director Chrissie Lewis and several support volunteers at our rendez vous point at 6:30am on Saturday 18th July. On the car journey on the way over (setting off at 5:25am!), Chrissie and I vowed that we would complete the whole challenge - all three Yorkshire peaks, even if we didn’t do it within the 12 hour target.

The weather was extremely mixed ranging from what felt like gale force winds, which was tough walking head on, rain, hailstones, cold and then sun! My legs felt like they were that of a lego man and that they were coming away from and out of my body and needed to be pushed back in! I was reassured when several other trekkers agreed that they felt the same!

After conquering two peaks in 8.5 hours, several of the charity support volunteers and one of the guides said to me of course it was my decision if I attempted the third and final peak, but that they could tell I looked in pain, discomfort and exhausted. After changing my walking socks for the third time of the day and catching my breath with a cuppa and another chocolate bar, I thought to myself ‘I’ve started, so I will finish’, determined to conquer the final peak and joking to the team that it may take me until the Wednesday to get back, but I would do it!

So off I went! At this point, I was the very last in the SAFE@LAST group so had a guide and his dog walking with me as it was their job to be at the back to make sure everyone got back in one piece!

One of the strategies that got me through my 13.5 hours walk, was counting steps...sometimes on rocks I counted up to ten then repeated...on other more difficult terrain, I counted steps to my age 35...at other times, I joked in my head repeating Dory’s mantra ‘just keep swimming’ and all the way, determined to get to the end! I also thought about the vulnerable children that SAFE@LAST support and how the money I raised would have such an impact and literally save childrens lives.

The last couple of miles was the worst. I welled up and almost started crying a few times with the pain, frustration of still not being at the end. I am so glad to say that I eventually did it!

When I reached the end, alot of the other trekkers and support team (with over a 2 hour journey home) had already gone, but I was greeted back to where I started by a group including SAFE@ LAST founder trustee and fellow walker Hilary Massarella, my work colleague Tracy Haycox and her husband and of course Chrissie Lewis which was the tonic and welcome I really needed! Hats off to Chrissie for completing the challenge in 10 hours! Absolutely amazing!

Writing this two days later after completing the challenge, my legs are still sore, my femurs ache (!) but the sense of achievement is overwhelming. Thank you to everyone who supported me whether by sponsoring me, encouraging me or recommending remedies to help with a very sore body!

Thank you to my fellow JCI mate Chrissie for doing the challenge too. Between us, we’ve raised over £350! If you still want to support us but just not got round to it, our fundraising pages are still open http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/MarkSmith Mark Smith, 2015 JCI Sheffield president

be the CHANGE

#JCIVolunteering

Events Diary Here you can check out all of the fantastic events that are lined up for JCI Sheffield and even other chambers around the UK! Filled with business talks, training workshops, networking and socials your diary is about to get a lot more exciting! Be sure to book on Eventbrite to save your spot!

18 Aug

25 Aug

3 Sep

Public Speaking Training Type: Training Venue: Holiday Inn Express Date: 18th Aug, 2015 Price: Free

Numill Tour with JCI Rotherham Event Type: Business Venue: Numill, Balaclava Road, Sheffield, S6 3BG Date: 25th Aug, 2015 Price: Free Business Talk with Kate Hewett from Tramlines Event Type: Business Venue: Holiday Inn Express Date: 3rd Sep, 2015

8 Sep

JCI Yorkshire Public Speaking Competition Event Type: Regional Competition Venue: Hosted by JCI Barnsley - Holiday Inn Barnsley Date: 8th Sep, 2015 Price: TBC

12 Sep

'Through The Decades' 2015 Annual Dinner Event Type: Social Venue: Cutlers' Hall Hospitality, Church Street, S1 1HG, Sheffield Date: 12th Sep, 2015

21 Aug

Leadership Academy ‘LEAP’

26 Aug

Networking Wednesday

Event Type: Training Venue: BPP University Birmingham, 34-36 Colmore Circus Queensway, Birmingham, B4 6BN Date: 21st Aug, 2015 Price: £180

Event Type: Business Venue: Bloo88 West Street Date: 26th Aug, 2015 Price: JCI Member: £5 Non-Member: £5

4 Sep

JCI Bradford's 56th Annual Dinner Event Type: Social Venue: The Midland Hotel, Forster Square, Bradford BD1 4HU Date: 4th Sep, 2015 Price: £35 JCI members/ £40 non-members

12 Sep

JCI UK - Annual General Meeting (AGM) 2015 Event Type: Council meetings Venue: Sheffield Hallam University Date: 12th Sep, 2015 Price: Free

22 Sep

Nutrition & Health Workshop with Wise Choice Nutrition Event Type: Training Venue: The Holiday Inn Express, Blonk Street, Sheffield, S1 2AB Date: 22nd Sep, 2015

For more information head to our website http://www.jcisheffield.org.uk/events

be the CHANGE

Business Academy This year sees the launch of the very first Business Academy for JCI Sheffield. The event will take place on Saturday 24th and Sunday 25th October, at Sheffield Hallam University Business School, and will be a jam packed weekend of high quality training. As well as hearing from a successful business entrepreneur about her journey, training on offer will range from strategy, marketing, video production, management and leadership skills, customer experience and much more! This will give attendees a wide set of skills and techniques that will aid them in their day-to-day working life, whilst also enabling them to build their network with other like-minded individuals.

The weekend will give delegates (whether you are a JCI member or not), the opportunity to learn whilst doing and add vital skills and experience to your CV in a supportive and friendly environment. You will be able to build your network with local business professionals and industry leaders, and receive professional advice and support, giving you a platform to challenge yourself.

Whether you are thinking of starting a business, started a business or work for somebody, everyone needs a platform to network and gain skills.

Further information and costs will be released mid-August, however if you have any questions in the meantime please contact our Business and Partnerships Director, Katie Jackson: Katie.jackson@jcisheffield.org.uk. We look forward to seeing you in October!

Sheffield Hallam University 24th & 25th October

Spotlight on a Trainer

Kate Senter

Why I became a JCI trainer...

I remember going to my first official JCI training course – JCI Presenter – and being completely blown away by the two trainers, Dan Lally (JCI Barnsley) and Adam Woodhall (JCI Leeds). They were so professional and the quality of the training was higher than I had received in the workplace!

What really inspired me though was the way that the trainers supported, encouraged and challenged me and my fellow course mates – they really took us on a journey and by the end of the day, I knew that the experience had reshaped me in some way – as JCI often has a knack of doing!

A couple of years down the line, I completed another official course, JCI Trainer (not currently available but under review) and this was the first step towards my goal of becoming a fully fledged JCI trainer. The course taught me about different styles of learning and how to construct training courses in the most effective way and again, the trainers who ran the course (Emma Eastwood and Adam Woodhall, both JCI Leeds), supported me every step of the way.

It wasn’t long before I was itching to get out and about to start delivering training...but what could I train? Why would anyone want to listen to me? So I thought back to those JCI trainers that had inspired me – what made them so special? For me, it was about connection. It was about being in a room with someone who is passionate about the topic, who could enthuse and energise the audience and who put people at ease in a safe and open learning environment. Understanding this helped me to identify areas that I could start to train in. I looked at where I had most experience and passion – communications, branding, CSR – all of these topics I knew well and I felt confident that I had something to share and that I could help people to build their skills in these areas.

I LOVED travelling to other chambers, meeting new people and running training sessions – it felt like such a brilliant way to support the organisation and of course, I was learning and developing myself as a trainer all the time! In 2012, I wanted to push myself a little harder, so I applied to be a trainer at the JCI European Academy, from which I graduated in 2010. I was accepted into the Outdoor Team and travelled to Sweden to take part in the Academy. This was another life-shaping experience. The process was fantastic and all the trainers were well supported, given feedback all the time and everyone on the team improved their skills during their time there. I was ‘buddied’ up with a very experienced trainer from the Netherlands, Dennis Ament, who observed my training whilst I was there and gave me loads of great feedback in my debrief – he really enabled me to believe in myself as a trainer and accept that I had found something that I had a huge passion for.

Around this time, I started to flex my trainer skills at work – it was brilliant to be in a position where my JCI experience was enriching my professional life!

Since those first training adventures, I have continued to deliver training (both in and outside of JCI), I have trained at the Scottish National Convention and I have been part of the training team for JCI UK LEAP. I also returned to Sweden and the JCI European Academy this summer! This year I joined the Indoor Team and spent a week working with some fantastic JCI trainers! Of course, I was nervous before I got there: would I be good enough, would I meet their expectations, would the delegates warm to me? A year ago, I received feedback from an attendee to a training course that I gave that I was just too energetic – that for some people, this was difficult to connect with and so I wanted to use this opportunity to test myself to use different energy levels to create a different impact. This was my main personal goal! Again, I was supported every step of the way and by the end of the week, I was delighted with the positive feedback I had received – especially as one delegate specifically pointed out my ability to change the pace of training by using various energy levels!

I feel very privileged to be a JCI trainer and hope that I can continue to train for many years to come. In this role I have been able to travel, meet new people, share my passion and also develop myself and my skills and I think this really is a great example of how JCI can provide development opportunities that empower our members to create positive change.

Kate Senter, JCI Sheffield, 2015 IPP JCI UK

@KateSenter

https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&ved=0CAcQjRxqFQoTCJO_wLCJi8cCFYS2FAodHCsAIQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2Fjcirotherham&ei=c2e-VdO5NoTtUpzWgIgC&bvm=bv.99261572,d.d24&psig=AFQjCNGgv1VA-rOnORCY3fixsaAyNUspIA&ust=1438628081312037 https:// scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xft1/v/t1.0-9/11112852_10152724131326835_3347038068971609832_n. jpg?oh=56f5ede2638ab777479a05b6519e7587&oe=563C2249

What could be better than a day of fun, activities, team building with a competitive edge? A Hesley Wood Scout Activity Centre, just off the M1 at Chapeltown we have booked a day of activites for just £30pp. We have the cube, an obstacle course, team building and archery. It’s bring your own packed lunch (how cute) and scores will be kept to determine which chamber wins at the end of the day. Everyone is invited, so please add members and non members and cross fingers for a lovely summers day. 15th August, 10am.

JCI Bradford welcomes you to their 56th Annual Dinner this year at the historic Midland Hotel. The evening will be filled with recognition, reward and fun culminating in a great night of celebration for a chamber that has rebuilt itself and is growing stronger every day. Get away from the TV and head out for a great night out and network with some amazing people who have done some incredible things in their communities.

4th September, 7pm.

JCI Doncaster would like to welcome you to the beautiful setting of Cusworth Hall for a picnic. We will be bringing some sporting equipment to put a group activity on for willing participators. Please bring a picnic and some prosecco (optional).

We will all be meeting at Cusworth Hall car park at 1pm, please note if you are driving to this event there is a small charge for the car park. 29th August, 1pm.

The timetable for the Friday of the biggest event in the JCI UK calender, JCI UK National Conference has been released! Check out the training sessions, keynote spekarers and more below!

More days coming soon!

Trade Show - With twenty different companies represented and with an expected 400 visitors on the day, come along to meet decision makers from across South Yorkshire, the UK and beyond Aligning Personal & Company Goals to Drive Success.There can be a lot of talk and emphasis on changing into a new you. But do you need a new you? Russell Hobbs / Develop to Succeed Business Intelligence: How Big Data Can Help Any Business Big data is being used all over the world to predict changes in the stock exchange, see patterns to improve health care and even predict crime in Los Angeles. Dan Senter / Business Intelligence Centre at National Grid TOYP Lunch - The JCI Ten Outstanding Young Persons of the World Program (JCI TOYP) serves to formally recognise young people who excel in their chosen fields and create positive change.

Ditch the Arm, Keep the Leg – the unexpected, the goal, and the journey to success. Life can and always will throw you curve balls, it is how you approach these obstacles that will determine your fate – failure or success. Attitude is everything!

Office Olympics by Team Activ - Full details coming soon.

Speed Networking - Meeting new people and building relationships is a sure fire way of ensuring that your business will continue to grow.

JCI UK Public Speaking Compertition - Who will be crowned the JCI UK Public Speaking Champion 2015? Representatives from chambers across the UK will perform a speech.

Toga Party - It wouldn’t be the JCI UK National Conference without a great Friday night party, and this year is no different.

@JCI_Barnsley

#JCIUKNC2015

Being one of the Community Directors for JCI Doncaster I always like to support our local chambers charity events and who doesn’t love a bit of bingo and pizza on a Thursday night?

A group from JCI Doncaster attended and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We seemed to be the lucky table (Ryan wanted to defect to Doncaster at one point) and won the first two lines and two lines and a full house before any other table. In the end everyone on the table bar one had won a bingo prize (and they later won in the raffle) and enjoyed our evening. There was plenty of prizes to be won from Nothing But Nets wristbands to a box of chocolates to a small bottle of wine (our team seemed to have one of everything by the end of the night). The call for the night was JCIBingo (although I forgot this) and with 6 games and 3 prizes for each game this was shouted a lot. Gareth with his bingo calling and his jacket was very funny and sometimes even he could not keep a straight face. There was lovely food provided by Bloo 88 and plenty of it.

Nothing but Nets is a wonderful charity providing mosquito nets to children in Africa and is a JCI UK charity for this year. The evening raised £151 which bought 20 mosquito nets and helps JCI Sheffield’s target of providing a bed net per member.

Lindsey McAteer, JCI Doncaster

#ImpactJCI

#

Great afternoon for a great cause As a new member of JCI Sheffield I was delighted to attend the Charity Tea Afternoon in the Sheffield Hilton Hotel.

All the proceeds went to JCI Sheffield’s chosen charities; NothingButNets, who provide mosquito nets to those in dire need RSPCA, for their ongoing work with animals (The JCI Group held a volunteering morning at their premises recently) Age UK Sheffield; providing support for older people within the community Safe@Last; a charity that helps children and young people who are at risk as a result of running away from home.

The hotel staff were very efficient and friendly. There was a great selection of fresh cakes and sandwiches piled high on each table. The scones led to many “jam or cream first?” debates and the endless tea and coffee topped off the afternoon. The big tables were great for group discussions and meeting new faces. At the end any leftovers were put into tuppawares to take home for those unfortunate enough to not have attended.

The JCI council member Neal took the stage to speak about all the charities and their fantastic work, explaining how our donations would help these great causes. Mark Smith, President of JCI Sheffield, took charge of the raffle and table quiz and dished out some amazing prizes as well as being very entertaining!

In between the activities there were many stalls to browse and many people to talk to. Live entertainment was provided by up and coming singer Ellie Hudson.

A great afternoon was had by everyone who attended and the best part was we really made a difference, in keeping with JCI Sheffield’s hashtag #betheCHANGE -Brogan O’Callaghan, JCI Sheffield member

#ImpactJCI

Check out the website for more!

Follow JCI Sheffield on social media! #betheCHANGE