On Friday 6th June 2016, the small village of Acaster Malbis, near York, was treated to a pop up community café run by Year 7 student Isaac Harris as part of his Young Leaders Award.  Isaac, a student at St Olaves, had chosen to raise funds for Orchid, a national charity fighting male cancer.

With the support and help of family and friends, Isaac decided to give up part of his half-term to provide local residents and workers from nearby businesses, with a selection of appetising treats including sausage sandwiches, jacket potatoes and delicious cakes. There was also a tombola for people to try their luck at.

Prior to the event Isaac had used the skills he has learnt on the Young Leaders Award to contact local businesses for help.  Many donated goods to enable the event to run.  He leafleted the village and set up a website about the café, promoting the event through social media.

Asked why he had chosen to raise money for Orchid Isaac said,

“There is lots of awareness about women’s cancers and not so many promoting men’s health, and so it is good to make more people aware”.

Describing the Young Leaders Award as “fun, challenging and exciting”, Isaac said he had enjoyed making people smile, while raising money for the important work Orchid do.

Elizabeth Howat, Secondary Strategic Lead at the Youth Trust said,

“It is great to see individual students like Isaac being inspired to think big and put on an event such as this.  He has worked really hard to make it a success and raise awareness and funds for a charity that is important to him, while also giving something back to the local community.  He is ‘being the change’ in action. Fantastic work Isaac.”