Young lawyers stage Disney film premiere for unemployed youth

YOUNG executives from Birmingham solicitors DBS Law staged an exclusive charity premiere of the latest Disney release “Saving Mr Banks” at Cineworld in Broad Street in aid of unemployed young people from the city.

The screening was the first chance for local film fans to see Tom Hanks playing Walt Disney in this recreation of the making of Mary Poppins.

The event was organised by the young lawyers as part of a project to raise money for The Prince’s Trust to help young unemployed people from the West Midlands.

The project, the Million Makers Challenge, pits different groups of employees from local businesses against each other in a race to turn a £1,500 investment into as much cash as possible. The contestants have to pitch a business idea to a Dragons Den-style panel from The Prince’s Trust to win their start up stake.

With an average age of 28 the DBS Law team chose to go into show business to raise money for young unemployed people to get a chance to set up in business.
The team have a string of events planned in and around Broad Street over the next six months.

Team leader Leslie Martin said: “The plan basically is to get entertainment venues on board with us in joint ventures put on fund raising film shows, comedy nights and concerts.”

Shakespeares links up with homeless charity to help tackle social injustice

FELLOW Birmingham law firm Shakespeares is working alongside Birmingham-based homeless charity SIFA Fireside to provide free legal advice to homeless people in the region. 

To coincide with National Pro Bono Week, the law firm hosted an event to launch the initiative and help raise awareness of the wider issues linked to homelessness.

As a result of the initiative, SIFA Fireside’s clients are now benefiting from free, fortnightly legal advice surgeries to help them to tackle any social injustice associated with homelessness, alcohol misuse and social exclusion.

Mark Beesley, head of litigation at Shakespeares, said:  “The success of the event has demonstrated the increased need for this kind of practical help and free advice in the Midlands and it was encouraging to see so much support for the charity.”

Lloyds Bank Private Banking gives outdoor classroom new lease of life

A TEAM of 12 colleagues from Lloyds Bank Private Banking in Birmingham has donated its time to help create a much needed outdoor learning area for a West Midlands primary school. 

Pupils at Allesley Hall Primary School in Coventry had been keen to get hands-on with nature and learn more about the wildlife near their school but their outdoor classroom had become so overgrown it was unusable.  Lloyds Bank Private Banking stepped in as part of Lloyds Banking Group’s annual ‘Day to Make a Difference’, to clear the area of nettles and brambles, and reinstate it as a valuable resource for the pupils.

Armed with spades, loppers and some thick gloves, the volunteers cleared the area, laid a weed-blocking membrane path, created a flat open space for lessons, and a little nook underneath a fallen log for the children to explore. 

Adrian Wheeler, a regional manager for Lloyds Bank Private Banking in Birmingham, said: “The pupils at Allesley Hall Primary School really love being outdoors and learning about plants and wildlife first hand. 

“It was great to be able to help give their outdoor learning area a new lease of life and to see how much enjoyment and educational benefit they get from the space.”