A partnership that walks the talk: Powwow Events & Pimlico Academy
In 2024, Powwow Events set out to make a meaningful contribution to young people in their community and ended up building an ongoing transformative relationship with Pimlico Academy through Future First. What began as a fundraising challenge quickly evolved into a hands-on, high-impact collaboration that has expanded students’ confidence, aspirations, and awareness of the events industry.
The journey started with the Powwow team undertaking a 15-mile sponsored walk across London to raise the £3,000 needed to sponsor a local school to develop a thriving alumni network and volunteer community. Their motivation was clear: to help tackle the UK’s social mobility gap and open the doors of the events industry to young people who may not otherwise have considered it or might see it as accessible to them.
Amanda Edgcumbe, Founder, said: "When I came across Future First, I felt an immediate connection to their mission, especially as someone who grew up in a low-income household and left school at 16. Learning that half of 15-year-olds in the UK don’t believe someone like them can succeed pushed us at Powwow to get involved.”
Powwow was paired with Pimlico Academy and immediately set out to bring their mission to life. Amanda, together with Katie Curzon, Managing Director, visited a business class to speak candidly about entrepreneurship, career journeys, and the realities of starting and running a business.
Katie reflected: “Collaborating with Future First has been a truly uplifting experience for Powwow. Their passion and dedication to creating opportunities for young people is inspiring, and it resonates so strongly with our own values. Our partnership with Pimlico Academy has brought this to life in the most rewarding way.
We have been able to create meaningful and lasting impact for students, helping them build confidence, grow their ambitions, and discover the exciting possibilities the events industry has to offer.”
Over the year, Powwow has delivered a couple of immersive workshops for Year 9 students, each supported by five team members. Using a bespoke events brief, students explored core elements of event planning: venue selection, budgeting, and pitching. The Powwow team worked closely with each group, helping them understand the breadth of roles in the industry. The students’ creativity shone: one pitch left the team “blown away” by the student’s natural sales ability and confidence.
Powwow has also attended careers fairs at Pimlico Academy and offered work experience opportunities for a couple of students at the school. Team members Trin and Charlotte recently took part in a school-wide careers event, offering focused Q&As with older year groups. Charlotte McCormack, Project Director, said: "It was such an amazing experience getting to talk to students from Years 7–13 about my career journey, from my education to where I am today.
Day to day, it’s so easy to get caught up in what’s next that we forget to reflect on how far we’ve come. The in-class experience gave me a moment to pause, look back, and feel genuinely proud of my journey so far. "
What began as a fundraising walk has evolved into a meaningful partnership that is opening doors for young people while allowing Powwow’s team to rediscover, in their own words, “why we love what we do.”
If you are an employer interested in supporting supporting schools in your local community and helping young people find their own path to success, have a look at our school sponsorship options.
