A group of university students have raised awareness and made donations to two Cumbrian charities.

The second-year students from the Chartered Management Degree Apprenticeship, based at the University of Cumbria's Ambleside campus, threw their support behind two local charities: Cash for Kids: Mission Christmas and Windermere & District Food Bank.

The project emerged from an apprenticeship task, wherein the two apprenticeship teams, comprising of employees from North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust, BAE Systems, Westmorland Group, Gilpin Hotel and Simon Rogan’s restaurants, were charged with applying their practical skills to set up a support campaign for their chosen charities.

Undertaking an collaborative approach, the students reached out to their workplaces and communities to establish collection points for food and toy donations.

The result was more than 300 food items and 200 toys and gifts being donated, valued at an estimated £2,000.

These donations will be invaluable for both charities.

Cash 4 Kids: Mission Christmas is dedicated to supplying Christmas presents to children living in impoverished conditions across Cumbria and South-West Scotland.

Windermere & District Food Bank delivers parcels containing at least three days of nutritionally balanced, non-perishable food supplies to those who run the risk of going hungry, whilst also offering support to individuals facing emotional or financial difficulties.

Nikki Dawson, a Lecturer at the University of Cumbria, expressed her pride in the apprentices' achievements, remarking: "I am unbelievably proud of the apprentices and what they have achieved.

"Not only have they raised awareness and donations for their charities, but they have learned valuable skills through the project planning experience."

Laura Street, a member of the Mission Christmas team and a Level 5 apprentice, expressed her delight at the project's success.

She said: "It’s been fantastic to fundraise for these local charities whilst learning through the project management module.

"We never thought that as a group we would be able to draw in so much support in such a short time and are hugely grateful to those who donated so generously."

This successful charity drive came from the University of Cumbria's BA (Hons) Applied Management Degree Apprenticeship, which combines academic insights with the opportunity to apply these learnings in a practical context.