Andy Stephenson, Founder of Weekend Box Club – a successful business based in Newcastle – offers a membership club designed to provide high quality activities for parents and children. Each box provides a mix of creative content and fun activities that help parents and children engage together.
A new letterbox-sized activity box is posted directly to the homes of subscribers throughout the UK every fortnight containing fun and engaging activities that can be enjoyed by children with support from an adult.
Andy has taken the concept of his Weekend Box and produced a special limited-edition entrepreneurs box especially for children aged eight plus. The Business Builder Box provides young entrepreneurs with the tools they need to start their own block-printing business from scratch. It also contains a business best practice guide that offers advice, tips and instructions on how to turn their creations into enterprises.
As well as encouraging young entrepreneurs, the box, which retails at £9.95, also helps raise money for charity. One pound from every sale will go towards Traidcraft Exchange’s Hidden Entrepreneur Appeal.
The appeal is one of the schemes supported by the Government’s UK Aid Match scheme, under which every donation from the public made before 11 April, is matched by a contribution from the Department for International Development. The appeal encourages people in the UK to donate to support entrepreneurs in some of the world’s poorest countries.
By matching donations to Traidcraft Exchange’s Hidden Entrepreneur appeal, UK aid will help thousands of people in Kenya, Senegal and Bangladesh develop the business know-how needed to run sustainable enterprises. This in turn will create better futures for their families and communities.
“Traidcraft Exchange is an organisation that is very dear to my heart,” said Andy. “I know from my own experience that if young people have the drive and support to take their business ideas further, they will succeed. Unfortunately, this is not the case in other parts of the world where business advice isn’t always readily available. That’s why I support Traidcraft Exchange as they invest in the businesses of people overseas who really need that assistance,” he said.
Director of Traidcraft Exchange, Charlotte Timson said:
“Entrepreneurs like Andy give a lot of inspiration and support to others all over the world. We are delighted that his new Business Builder Box is not only teaching young people vital business skills but it is also helping to raise much needed funds for other entrepreneurs in developing countries.”
The Hidden Entrepreneur appeal will run until 11th April.