North Kent College Business, Events & Hospitality and Travel & Tourism students organised the annual Christmas Market at the Dartford Campus. The Market was open to all staff and students, raising money for a local charity – ‘BEAMS’.
Due to the event being such a success last year the students came together to create another great event for a good cause. The Christmas Market was run by students from the following curriculum areas for a unit they are studying as part of their course:
- Business Level 3 Second Years for their Event Planning unit.
- Hospitality and Events Level 3 first and second years for their Business Enterprise unit.
- Hospitality and Events Level 2's for their Planning and Running an Event unit.
- Travel and Tourism Level 3 Second Years for their Conference and Events unit.
The stall concepts were decided by the students themselves and they have spent weeks planning, organising, and creating them as part of their units. They included crafts, hot chocolate, games, raffles, and Christmas gifts. They opened it to other students and staff members within the College who may have their own business to buy a table for a fee of £5 and a donation to the raffle.
Miskin Music students performed throughout the event, creating a great atmosphere and the Hair and Media Make-Up students offered face-painting and donated their takings too.
Staff and students from all departments attended and participated by purchasing gifts, playing games, and having a festive time! The nursery staff and children from Bright Beginnings Nursery were also invited, they had a fantastic time.
All proceeds from the Christmas Market will be donated to ‘BEAMS’, the departments' chosen charity for this academic year, and Luke Cashin, Corporate Fundraiser for Beams, came along to support the event, and even had his face-painted!
Tara Archer, Lecturer in Travel and Tourism, said “We feel it was a great success, it was lovely to see our students' hard work pay off; they all made such an effort with their stalls and worked so well together. So far, the money raised for Beams stands at £600, which is fantastic, so we would like to thank everyone who came along yesterday to support the Christmas Market.”