Triple signing for Enthusiasm Trust

Three senior East Midlands business figures have joined the board of the Enthusiasm Trust, an organisation which gives opportunities to teenagers who are at risk of falling into crime.

Derby College deputy principal April Hayhurst, Huub’s Dean Jackson and Nottingham Academy’s Wells Academy Campus principal Marcus Shepherd have all joined the Queen’s-award winning Trust, which operates in Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and across the UK.

Hayhurst said: “I am passionate about enabling young people to change their lives.

“Some are not born into great surroundings. We have a duty of care to these young people because if we don’t give them our time, who will?

“I was involved with a project aimed at ending gang and youth violence and the young people involved levitate to those who they feel comfortable and accepted by and to some degree they have become unseen and unheard.

“It becomes a difficult cycle to break if you are not noticed or given an opportunity to change.

“Of those young people who started the programme, 50 per cent entered sustained employment and changed their lifestyle.”

Shepherd said: “I am very passionate about young people ensuring they are as good as they can be.

“Having overcome the obstacles of being from a single-parent family and from an ethnic minority, I believe I can help those from difficult backgrounds believe that they can achieve.”

Jackson, owner and founder of wetsuit manufacturer Huub, added: “I have known about the work of Enthusiasm for some time – its work with young people has helped me have a broader understanding of the world we live in even if at times it isn’t to our own liking or expectations.

“I am hoping my passion for Derby and belief in the opportunities that should be offered to all, will mean I can support the Trust in delivering sustainable and exciting programmes well into the future.

“And, of course, these will not only be of benefit to Derby but other cities and towns where the Enthusiasm team operates.”