Pictured above: Bags of business ideas - Debbie Beeston, of Pertemps People Development Group, joins Cardinal Wiseman School pupils (from left) Ashleigh Shiach, Joe Clarke, Patrick Higgins, Charlie Murdoch and Shai Burton

A group of budding young entrepreneurs with bags of energy and ideas are causing a stir with a new business venture supported by a Coventry company.

Generous workers at Pertemps People Development Group (PPDG) have donated £300 to back Cardinal Wiseman School's Young Chamber of Commerce in their 'Cardinal Tea' and 'Bag for Life' projects.

Pupils in years 10, 12 and 13 have worked hard during their lunch breaks and after school to create a brand of tea, which they will package and sell at school, and environmentally-friendly shopping bags. Both products will be sold to raise money for charity.

Louise Careless, who is the employer liaison at PPDG in Solihull, organised the company's donation and attended the launch of the products.

She said: "It's great to see young people working so hard to support people less fortunate than themselves and selling these two products is a great way to raise funds. There were lots of positive comments from local businessmen and women and as a result they have been invited along to a Chamber of Commerce members meeting to introduce their products."

The school received a donation from PPDG's payroll giving scheme Give As You Earn (GAYE), part of its active community support programme. Workers make a monthly contribution to support  good causes. Over £120,000 has already been pledged to charities, community groups, schools and individuals since the programme began in 2004.

From pencil sketches to the final product, the school worked with a design company to help the venture take shape. The pupils thought long and hard about the message that they wanted to portray and selected the school's sustainability quote '…because it's our future'.

All profits from the tea will go to projects in Malawi that are supported by Cardinal Wiseman. Later this year a group of sixth formers will travel to Malawi to deliver sports coaching, classroom teaching and advice on agricultural developments. Their trip is self funding and they work hard to raise money to cover their costs.

Louise added: "As well as the launch, the pupils have been busy selling the bags to staff and parents and the next stage is to begin to look for retail outlets to stock the bags."

In 2007, PPDG was recognised by the Institute of Fundraising for operating one of the best payroll giving schemes in the UK.

PPDG is recognised as one of the UK's market leaders in addressing unemployment and social exclusion. It has helped more than 100,000 long-term unemployed people into sustained employment and self-employment through a variety of Government-funded Welfare to Work initiatives including Employment Zone, New Deal, and the Family Engagement Support Project. It has also trained over 130,000 people in vocational skills, and more than 175,000 people have benefitted from professional information, advice and guidance services.