[This is a sponsored article with HELP International School.]

Image this: You’re a secondary college scholar tasked with a volunteer venture. You and your group should work with a good NGO or social enterprise as a part of your course’s syllabus.

You choose an organisation and message their socials, drop them a professionally written e mail, and name the telephone numbers offered on their website.

However you’re left ghosted. So, you attain out to dozens extra, solely to obtain one reply ultimately, simply barely in time earlier than the venture deadline.

There must be a neater strategy to go about this, and that’s precisely what BRIDGE CONNECT goals to unravel.

The platform bridges the hole between the youth and NGOs to find and securing significant volunteer alternatives.

Based by a gaggle of Sixth Kind A-Stage college students from HELP Worldwide Faculty in 2023, the group went on to bag RM50,000 from a enterprise capital agency and startup accelerator, 1337 Ventures, to pursue their venture as an precise enterprise. 

Meet the group: The BRIDGE CONNECT group was based by eight Yr 12 college students who had been between 16 and 18 years previous on the time. They’re Lee Ka Dong, Mia Lee Ying Ying, Skye Teh Xin Yee, Samitinjay De, Julianne Yap, Chong Mae Jian, Germaine Soo Jen Ning, and Katrina Ong Kai Qing.

Bridging the hole

Talking to Vulcan Submit, the scholars shared that the above downside was one thing they’ve confronted themselves, which impressed their conception of BRIDGE CONNECT.

Whereas constructing their platform, the HELP Worldwide Faculty college students related with the Malaysian Basis for the Blind (MFB) and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM).

The organisations wanted assist creating Malay-to-English braille dictionaries that might profit round 70,000 blind and visually impaired folks within the nation.

“They granted us an enormous alternative to help with the information entry stage for the primary braille dictionary in Malaysia,” shared Mae Jian. 

Needing extra arms on deck for the tedious activity, the group utilised their BRIDGE CONNECT platform to assemble scholar volunteers.

By means of this expertise, the BRIDGE CONNECT group offered their resolution at their college’s Challenge Objective Demo Day, which invited numerous companions from trade, together with 1337 Ventures, represented by its founder, Bikesh Lakhmichand.

It’s the ultimate take a look at of Challenge Objective, a programme developed by HELP Worldwide Faculty to teach its younger abilities to assume innovatively and foster an entrepreneurial mindset.

In an interview with BFM, Bikesh said that he was compelled to fund BRIDGE CONNECT after witnessing the group’s tenacity and enterprise acumen in constructing their platform.

“They proved to me that it wasn’t simply an thought for his or her college venture. They confirmed me that this was an precise downside, performed surveys to indicate that folks needed their resolution, after which constructed an internet site on their very own with out spending a single dime,” recalled Bikesh. 

He added that this course of was akin to how startups are created in the true world, and believed that the venture might make an impression in society ought to it pan out as meant.

“After receiving the funding, we’re working with Mr Bikesh to register us as an SDN BHD firm,” stated Germaine Soo. “Now, we’re within the course of of creating the official web site for BRIDGE CONNECT.”

The group shared that they’ve since utilised the funds to arrange BRIDGE CONNECT as an official enterprise. This contains the backend processes like hiring an organization secretary, registering the enterprise, and organising a enterprise checking account. 

They’ve additionally utilised the funds for on-ground advertising initiatives to drive consciousness about their resolution.

Moreover, BRIDGE CONNECT is connecting scholar volunteers with different types of on-line volunteering reminiscent of managing social media channels for NGOs, writing articles, analysis, and extra. “That is to attain our objective of creating volunteering extra accessible to college students,” Katrina Ong stated.

Whereas the eight college students behind it will likely be transferring on to universities world wide, they continue to be dedicated to constructing their platform, and might nonetheless achieve this because it’s operated solely on-line.

“We additionally hope to move this venture on to our juniors in HELP Worldwide Faculty by hiring them as interns to assist handle bodily occasions like workshops and cubicles,” added Katrina. “By doing so, we will foster this scholar volunteering group in Malaysia.”

In the meantime, the braille dictionary is at the moment in improvement and has accomplished its prototype stage as of Q1 2023, in line with The Star.

Constructing social entrepreneurs

The success of the BRIDGE CONNECT group may need been more durable to attain if not for Challenge Objective.

A part of the varsity’s Sixth Kind (A-Ranges) programme since 2021, it’s a course at HELP Worldwide Faculty the place college students be taught by the hands-on expertise of beginning a social enterprise. It goals to find college students’ untapped potential that goes past conventional coursework. 

For context, conventional A-Ranges contain college students finding out as much as 4 topics. At HELP Worldwide Faculty, college students get the choice to go the standard route, or pursue three topics alongside Challenge Objective.

At Challenge Objective, college students are guided by startup fundamentals like ideation, analysis, budgeting, product improvement, enterprise planning, advertising, and impression evaluation. 

The programme works with consultants within the Malaysian startup scene, specifically 1337 Ventures’ Bikesh, NEXEA’s Justin Lim and Ben Lim, and ScaleUp’s Aaron Sarma. 

College students even have the chance to collaborate with native entrepreneurs, giving them entry to first-hand insights and constructing their community.

The Challenge Objective journey concludes with Demo Day, throughout which college students will pitch their options and display how they will transition into real-world ventures.

Persevering with the success

BRIDGE CONNECT has impacted greater than its beneficiaries, as they’re additionally difficult societal beliefs that children who grew up in our digital world are overly pampered.

“Being from the present era of immediate gratification, as these college students witness their tasks making an impression and as their seniors acquire recognition for his or her work, college students turn out to be intrinsically motivated to make their tasks a hit,” shared Manmeet Kaur, Challenge Objective Coordinator. 

She elaborated, “As soon as they’re positioned in a secure setting, [and are] explicitly instructed that it’s okay to fail, all college students are prepared to attempt one thing new and step outdoors their consolation zone.”

Now in its fourth cohort, HELP Worldwide Faculty’s Sixth Kind will probably be accepting enrolments for his or her August 2024 cohort from now until July. 

College students who’ve accomplished their GCSE, SPM, or equal are welcome to hitch the programme and embark on the Challenge Objective journey, which you’ll be able to join right here. 

• Be taught extra about BRIDGE CONNECT right here, and HELP Worldwide Faculty’s Sixth Kind right here.
• Learn different education-related articles right here.

Featured Picture Credit score: HELP Worldwide Faculty