Students' work benefits charity

The students have helped L’Arche make itself better-known and better-off with a range of suggestions.

One of the ways is through a flyer to promote L’Arche’s work as a Christian community and charity for adults with learning difficulties.

Alyssa Polinag won the competition for the best design, held among students at 
Chichester College.

Her handiwork will go on 
display across the community around the L’Arche shop on Aldwick Road.

Alyssa said: “I made this leaflet as part of my AS communication and culture course and to inform the wider community about L’Arche and what they offer.

“On my course, enterprise skills are very important and so this is a great opportunity to gain more skills to help me in my future.”

The link between the college and L’Arche arose when 
the charity’s day services 
co-ordinator, Sebastian Siemieniec, asked the students for ideas about how to attract more young adults with learning difficulties to use its services, increase sales of its handmade crafts and raise its profile.

The goods in the shop include candles, cards, jewellery and hand-crafted decorations created by clients.

Students from the college’s Peter Jones Enterprise Academy followed a visit to the charity 
shop with a detailed proposal of some easy-to-implement suggestions.

These focused on marketing, creating promotional materials, redeveloping the website, using social media and re-dressing the window display.

The enterprise students soon identified ways in which 
other Chichester College students could help the charity.

They engaged support from A-level ICT students for the 
website work, the A-level communication and cultural students for the flyers and A-level international business students to revamp the window display for Christmas.

Business enterprise manager at the college Tara Lovejoy said: “College is the practice ground for the future workforce and, by connecting real business experience with students’ learning, this will help provide students with skills needed by employers.”

The IT students are developing the new website and L’Arche is visiting the college to check on its progress.

The window display by the international business and professional marketing students is set to be completed by Christmas.

L’Arche has also benefited 
from taking part in the college’s pop-up markets from October 9 and will take part at its Christmas fair on December 4.