Back in September 2024, the new cohort of Project SEARCH interns set themselves a challenge to raise £500 to support Burnley Together at Down Town… and thanks to their hard work, they managed to raise over £1200!
The group of six interns – Corey, Anabelle, Yusuf, Harley, Kane and Matthew – settled on two donation-generating activities to raise their funds: a spooktacular Halloween pumpkin carving competition and a challenging 77-mile indoor sponsored bike ride.
Burnley Project SEARCH intern, Anabelle Pilling, said: “I really enjoyed how we worked together to raise money for Burnley Together. We all loved preparing for the pumpkin carving competition and people were so supportive. We had almost 50 entries and everyone in Calico who made one had a great time too”.
Following the pumpkin carving, the team took to the saddle of their stationary bike to celebrate ‘National Supported Internship Day’ in March.
The 77-mile ‘route’ stopped at every other DFN Project SEARCH location in Lancashire, including Places for People in Preston, Blackburn Asda, Hutton Police HQ and Colne Asda.
Corey Taggerty-Britton, one of 2024/25 cohort of interns, explained: “I did my first placement at Down Town and I can see how important the place is for the community so I was happy to help them raise money to carry on supporting people. I’m sporty so I’m glad we could do the bike ride; it was good for us to work as team. I can’t believe how much money we managed to raise!”
The team completed their challenge in just six hours and 45 minutes and managed to raise over £1000 throughout the day.
Project SEARCH tutor, Sarah Moorhouse, added: “Burnley Together reached out and asked if we could help raise money for them over the academic year. The intern’s had some fantastically creative ideas how to do this, from a pie-eating competition to Christmas crafts”.
Sarah continued: “The aim was to reach £500 in total and through their hard work and determination, they raised more than double this”.
“Not only did they help customers of Burnley Together they also developed great employability skills such as teamwork and organisation. We’re all very proud of them!”
The money the interns raised will help Down Town support more people across Burnley and Padiham. Located above New Look in Charter Walk, Down Town is home to a community grocery, ‘Re-love the Pre-Loved’ store, on-site café and a community space for employability sessions, activities, play groups and more.
Nicola Larnach, Down Town Co-ordinator, said: “All the team at Down Town want to say a massive congratulations and thank you to Project Search for organising the events and for colleagues within Calico who supported the activities through sponsoring and taking part!”
DFN Project SEARCH provides supported internships for people with learning difficulties and autism spectrum conditions, making a positive difference to the lives of young people looking to build their work experience while studying at college.
In Burnley, the programme supports people with work placements within The Calico Group and local businesses. The Calico Group is the host employer, working in partnership with Burnley College and Lancashire County Council.