Five smart-thinking SSE employees have developed an innovative foldable and reusable plastic water bottle to raise funds for charity CHILDREN 1ST.
The product is part of the ‘Dragon’s Glen’ business challenge organised by CHILDREN 1ST and encourages inquiring minds from Scotland’s corporate world to come up with a clever idea that could grow into a bona fide operational enterprise.
The SSE team have been granted the £500 start-up cash from the ‘dragons’, which includes Brian Gilda of Peoples Ford, to get their idea off the ground and are now half way to raising their £5,000 target.
Alasdair Morton, an SSE graduate and part of the SSE Dragon’s Glen team explains why they entered the challenge: “The team is on the company’s Graduate Development programme and we thought entering this challenge would not only be a good way to get to know each other but enable us to do a great thing for charity.
“We came up with the water bottle design through our own observations and research on what was already available on the market. We custom-designed them to be transportable, reusable and foldable. Also as it’s to help raise funds for a children’s charity, we ensured it had room for their branding and message too.”
“We have done really well to receive backing from the dragons and are pleased with the response so far from fellow staff and the general public. We’re well on our way to meeting our target of £5,000 by the end of March and through further fundraising and marketing we’re on course to beat it.”
Eleanor Harris, Corporate Fundraising Development Manager at CHILDREN 1ST added:
“Dragons’ Glen is a Scotland-wide entrepreneurial corporate challenge which develops staff skills, inspires, motives and encourages team-working, while at the same time helping a great cause.
“All money raised from the Challenge will further the work of CHILDREN 1ST, which needs to raise £8 million each year to support over 10,000 vulnerable children and their families across Scotland. Some of the children we work with have suffered abuse, others are struggling to cope with parental substance misuse, family breakdown and chaotic home lives.
“By taking part in this year’s Dragons’ Glen Challenge SSE will make a real difference and help build brighter futures for Scotland’s vulnerable children.”
This year, the Dragon’s Glen Business Challenge involves teams of four to ten people from Scottish companies including The Wood Group, PriceWaterHouseCoopers and Maersk.
It provides employees of companies an opportunity for professional development whilst also raising money to help change the lives of Scotland’s vulnerable children. Now into its second year, the first competition raised £42,000 for CHILDREN 1ST and this year hopes are high to beat this target.
If you are interested in hearing more about the team or purchasing the handy 480ml foldable water bottle please contact dragons.glen@sse.com.
*Team members: Colin Fraser, Alasdair Morton, Scott MacLennan, David Hegarty and Panagiotis Papasotiriou.