Rare Spark News

SHAPE Careers Day, Frimley - 10th February 2009

Continuing with our work in supporting schools with travel planning, and in promoting the industry within the education sphere, Rare Spark attended the Surrey Heath Area Partnership for Education Careers open day at Tomlinscote School and Sixth Form College in Frimley – the first School /College in England to be awarded the Investor in Careers status.

We were pleased to be able to represent the industry to students and their parents and to provide advice and guidance on joining the Smarter Choices arena. Not one of the students we talked with had heard of the industry and, with the environment and climate change a key issue amongst the younger generation, many were keen to find out more about how they too might, in the future, take on the work of reducing congestion and emissions and improving health lifestyle that the Smarter Choices agenda promotes.

School Transport 2009, London - 27th January 2009

Rare Spark attends the School Transport 2009 Conference as an exhibiting sponsor.

This year’s 7th annual conference, which gathered together delegates from Local Authorities, Schools, Academia and Service providers, provided a focus to explore the issues of incorporating school travel planning into wider plans which promote sustainability and tackle congestion in local areas.

In particular, the conference examined how travel planners can support the delivery of the 14-19 agenda and positive activities targets. It also included an examination of the recommendations of the Yellow Bus Commission, chaired by Rt Hon David Blunkett MP.

As a key player in providing support to travel plan professionals – especially to those working within Local Authorities and responsible for school travel plans, Rare Spark was happy to support the conference and pleased to meet so many key people within the industry.

For further details on how we can help you with School Travel Plans please click here.

Rare Spark sponsors SSAFA Concert - 29th September 2008

Rare Spark is proud to have sponsored the Royal Artillery Band Concert at the Theatre Royal Windsor last night. The concert was staged in support of SSAFA Forces Help.

SSAFA - Forces Help has been serving the Armed Forces and their families for well over a 100 years and their work is as vital today as it has ever been. SSAFA’s continually evolving support services are driven by the current needs of the Service community.

The concert was performed by the Royal Artillery Band, one of the most accomplished bands in the British Army. The programme included both classic and modern favourites and raised £1,000 for SSAFA.

Rare Spark provides consultancy to the Army Benevolent Fund - 22nd September 2008

The Rare Spark team are proud to have provided transport consultancy to the Army Benevolent Fund for the Music On Fire Concerts at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. Music On Fire attracted 20,000 visitors over three nights.

The concerts were staged in aid of the Army Benevolent Fund which supports serving and ex-soldiers and their families. Music On Fire 2008 included the usual mix of breathtaking fireworks, stunning projection and amazing music. Special guests included Hayley Westenra and Jonathan Ansell.

 

Rare Spark Sponsors Young Enterprise – 17th December 2007

Rare Spark are pleased to announce their sponsorship of Young Enterprise company, Impact, in its production of a Green Calendar.

Formed by 17 pupils at the Royal Grammar School, Guildford, wanting either to develop their knowledge of the business world or enter it for the first time, Impact set out to present their message on green issues in a form that will be around all year – a Calendar.

Ben Aaronson, from Impact, said “We decided as a company to provide a different slant on how to help combat climate change.

Some people don’t feel committed enough to take direct action against climate change, while others comprehend what’s going on but need a kick-start to do their bit, and others still are up to date on where they stand but would like more information on how they can go even further to save the planet.

As a company in this day and age, you can have an even bigger influence when it comes to taking environmental action. A company that does its bit in terms of going green sets a perfect example to its clients, other companies and the general public. But however much your company does to be more carbon efficient, others will not be able to follow your lead unless we communicate as a society, corresponding with each other about the actions we take and spurring each other on.”

Jim Kemp, director of Rare Spark, said that they were privileged to sponsor such a venture: ”It is today’s young people who will be inheriting what we leave behind - although we will be able to make a start on tackling climate change, they are the ones who will be implementing and developing initiatives that we put in place – it is great to see the enthusiasm and drive of such a group and to join in with such an imaginative way to get the message across.”

The A3-sized Green Calendar is printed on 100% post-consumer-waste recycled paper, using highly environmentally friendly printing methods (the plates are recycled after use and chemical free technology is used as standard in all the printing processes). It is available for £8 from shops in Guildford High Street.

New Website Launch – 17th December 2007

The Rare Spark Team is delighted to announce the launch of our new website. Our aim with the site is to explain a little bit about who we are and what we do.

We also want explain the nature of our business more detail and show the types of project work that we regularly undertake.

We are also launching our mailing list – this will give us an opportunity to keep our contacts updated on what is happening at Rare Spark.