On 8 th June The Creation Station, Devon will be one of ten semi finalists pitching their business idea in this year’s Virgin Media Business, VOOM competition with the hope of securing a visit to Sir Richard Branson’s paradise home, Necker Island.
The Creation Station with over 85 franchise owners have been selected above hundreds of other businesses to proceed into the final 10 and will be hoping to secure their spot on Necker Island by winning the Impact Award.
The Impact Award, which is presented by Virgin’s charitable foundation Virgin Unite, will be given to a business which measure’s impact as well as profit; finds a solution to a social or environmental need; has a viable and financially sustainable business model and has impact at the core of its business.
And the prize is almost so good it’s priceless! The winning business will get an all-expense paid trip to Necker Island for a four-day Leadership Gathering taking place in 2017 called “Disrupting for Good”, six hours of dedicated mentoring and workshops with Virgin Unite and the opportunity to pitch to the Virgin Impact team for investment.
On 8 th June the ten Impact Award semi-finalists, including The Creation Station, will pitch to an expert panel of judges including: Holly Branson - Special Projects Manager at Virgin Group, Alison Fort - Acting CEO and MD Europe of Toniic, Jude Ower - founder/CEO of Playmob, Michael Lynas - CEO of National Citizen Service, Anna Jones Entre – Entrepreneurship Director at Virgin Unite and Ed Muuls – Investment Director at Virgin Management Ltd.
Holly Branson is Richard Branson’s daughter, she is chair of Virgin Unite, a Trustee of Big Change, Co-Chair of WE Day UK, and patron of Virgin Money Giving, and she said:
“The final shortlist of entries to this years Impact award are nothing short of incredible - I’m so excited meet the semi finalists. I believe passionately the impact a business has shouldn’t just be measured by the size of its bank account, we need to look at what they contribute to society and their local community. We must measure their social impact and reward those who find unique solutions for our social and environmental needs.”
Sarah Cressall Founder and MD will be representing and her company The Creation Station. The company is passionate about nurturing children’s creativity; it’s about giving expression to your own imagination in a group setting. Their aim is to help young children learn to make choices, share, listen, observe, problem solve. The business was founded by mum of three Sarah Cressall and since 2002 Sarah has developed the business – developing the ideas for her creative sessions. Starting from one location the business is now in 85 locations across the UK.
Sarah Cressall, Founder of The Creation Station said: “We are passionate about making a positive impact on children's lives through creative our award winning art and craft classes, parties and events" smiles Sarah Cressall "We are very proud and privileged to be making a difference to so many children, families and supporting local organisations with fun activities and creative products.
It's been wonderful to be alongside such amazing proactive positive businesses across the UK who put impact at the heart of everything they do'
The semi-finalists will go through the next stage of the competition this Wednesday (8 th June) and three finalists will be invited to the #VOOM final on 28 th June where a winner will be announced. The winning idea will then receive the all expense paid trip to Necker Island.