The University of Nottingham

Gap-year alumnus Tom Chance (Geography, Business and the Environment 2009) wanted to do something worthwhile between graduating and starting a job as a management consultant.

Horrified at the paltry £50 a scrapyard offered him for his car, Tom decided to turn bangers into cash for charity. A year on and his company Giveacar.co.uk (www.giveacar.co.uk) has raised more than £200,000 for more than 200 charities. Giveacar.co.uk is a social enterprise that raises money for charities by accepting donations of unwanted cars. One charity to benefit is FRAME – the Nottingham-based Fund for the Replacement of Animals in Medical Experiments, which supports research at The University of Nottingham.

“It was never really about the money I could raise but the concept of doing something different, something new for the charity sector. I’ve had to make quite a few sacrifices but the knowledge I’ve gained about a whole variety of issues will stay with me through my career,” said Tom.

Tom starts his management job later this year and is negotiating a transitionary phase before his company is taken over and run by a group of international charities.