(Gibraltar, 15 September 2010) Following the completion of several Future Leaders in Philanthropy (“FLIP”) Project fundraising events, over £32,000 was presented today by The Bonita Trust to local charities. Ruth Parasol DeLeon – founding member of the Trust's Advisory Board said ”The impact of this project both on the local community and Gibraltar charities has been great. Equally important is that it provides an invaluable learning experience for the participants.”
FLIP student Zoe Cortes raised the highest amount to date of over £11,500 for her charity with her “Oxygen” event. She remarked, “This money will make a huge difference to the Multiple Sclerosis Therapy Centre and will go towards helping the purchase of their own oxygen generator. I am extremely grateful to everyone who gave their time to help me with my event. The experience gained has been so useful.”
All the fundraising events have been organised by local students, aged 17 or 18, as part of their FLIP Project assignments, and have taken place over the last few months. The students' events included a Sponsored Run from Gibraltar to Alcaidesa in aid of RICC, the “Oxygen” Variety Show in the Alameda Gardens for the Multiple Sclerosis Therapy Centre, a 24-hour Sponsored Hike and Fun Day for the 1 st /4 th Scouts, a Corporate Challenge and a Basketball Tournament in aid of Childline, the “Art for Aid” exhibition and the “Raise Your Voice” singing show at Bayside School – both in aid of the Breast Cancer Support Group. Thanks to the support of the local community, over 3,000 people have enjoyed these FLIP fundraising events.
Moe Cohen, CEO of Bonita Trust, commented, “ The commitment of the students to the project can be seen by the excellent results; to date, with just 10 students, over £87,400 has been raised for many local charities.”
Trino Cruz of Credit Suisse noted, “FLIP continues to go from strength to strength. We are really excited with the strong support our students are getting from sponsors and the community.”
The FLIP Project is aimed at students in Year 12 and is a 3-year project, which teaches its participants about charities, how they are run and the challenges they face. The aim is to create greater social responsibility. In the first year, students are encouraged to research a local charity and compare it to an international charity with similar aims. Once this assignment is complete the students go on to organise and project manage a fundraising event for their chosen local charity. Whilst these assignments are in progress, the FLIP students are also running a virtual charity portfolio of €5m, assisted by a qualified investment mentor. This teaches them about how charities responsibly manage their investments. Finally, students are expected to write a business plan for their own virtual charity, taking into account all they have learnt over the first two years of the project.
FLIP is a joint venture project between The Bonita Trust and Credit Suisse (Gibraltar) Limited and is managed by Ros Astengo. For further information, visit the website www.flip.gi