The Society of Merchant Venturers

Youth

The Society of Merchant Venturers’ Youth Committee meets at least biannually to deliberate on ways in which the Society can offer support to young people in Bristol. Current areas of support include those associated with enterprise, youth in transition and disadvantaged youth.

The Merchant Venturers often work in partnership with other organisations to encourage extra funding in order to achieve greater impact.

Some examples of upcoming initiatives are:

The Brunel Institute

The Brunel Institute is a learning centre housed in a renovation of Brunel’s great Steamship Engine Works at the dockyard adjacent to the ss Great Britain.

It provides educational programmes for children and young adults, inspired by themes drawn from Brunel and his times in areas including science, engineering, enterprise, history, geography and maritime studies.

The Society of Merchant Venturers is helping to fund this new initiative with a particular focus on the provision of educational outreach programmes for schools, young people and their families within South Bristol.

Youth in Transition

The Merchant Venturers will be working closely with Quartet Community Foundation to help support up to 50 of the region’s most vulnerable children, aged between 9 and 12 years old, during an important period of transition in their life.

This pioneering work will take place in communities in East and South Bristol and will involve a number of secondary and primary schools in each area.  This initiative has emerged from separate research projects, both funded by the Merchant Venturers, looking at the issues and challenges associated with transition.

The Prince’s Trust

The Merchants have played a prominent role in supporting young, disadvantaged people through the Prince’s Trust in Bristol.

Several Merchants have participated in the Prince’s Trust’s Business Mentoring Scheme, providing one-to-one support to young people in Bristol, helping them get their business ideas off the ground. The Merchants continue to support budding entrepreneurs through the new Enterprise Programme. To read more about it, click here.

Support for Entrepreneurs

A new Enterprise Group has been established under the chairmanship of Merchant Venturer, Terence Mordaunt, to examine how members of the Society can support enterprise and commercial activity within greater Bristol.