The Great Fête!
By the time the WEXO Summer Fête had kicked off at three o’clock, the cloisters were lined with students chattering to exhibitors as they put the finishing touches to their stalls. Kids Company, The Write Stuff, Inspire, Future Prospect, STA Travel, TLC Events, Raleigh International and Base Camp were there to help students improve their CVs, plan worthwhile gap years and summer holidays and decide what career path to follow, while the company reps (from graphic designers, journalists and PR people to a reinsurance broker and a pilot!) came to pass on insider information about how to get a foot on their career ladder and what they look for in an employee. The WEXO team spent the afternoon attempting to match up students to interesting companies, giving each the chance to offer or find a work experience placement or an internship.
Later on in the afternoon after Robin Kennedy, our CEO, officially opened the event, Al Gosling (Extreme Group) and Camila Batmanghelidjh (Kids Company) took centre stage to talk about what motivated them to start up their companies, how they managed it and what they’re up to at the moment – inspiring a flurry of questions at the end from intrigued visitors.
Camila Batmanghelidjh speaking about starting up Kids Company
There were some very exciting fête games on offer all day, including Pinpoint the Mystery Location from STA Travel and Pin the Heart on the Person from Kids Company – and, of course, WEXO’s Guess How Many Sweets in the Jar, whose winner (the lovely Chantel) walked away with 1,076 smarties. At 6pm, as visitors chatted in the cloisters, passing on and receiving advice with Pimm’s in one hand and popcorn in the other, Mano de Dios stole the spotlight and really got the party started.
The sale of our raffle tickets raised a grand total of £261 for Kids Company, so thank you very much to all who donated and congratulations to the prize winners!
P.S. If you missed the chance to donate, please visit www.kidsco.org.uk/donate to support their fantastic work.
