The generous philanthropist and millionaire has donated £5000 to enable Shane, who has suffered from diabetes since the age of 10, to record four tracks at Jools Holland’s London recording studio. All profits from the sales of the CD will be donated to Diabetes UK and the tracks will be launched in time for Diabetes Week, 8th – 15th June 2008.
Mr. Jan Telensky said “In spite of the debilitating nature of his disease, Shane has fought back to achieve success both with his sporting interests and his passion for acting and music. His commitment to raising money to find a cure for Diabetes is an inspiration to us all. He’s totally disinterested in his own profit and for that reason, I’m delighted to be able to back the SkillsTrain / Pop4Diabetes CD project”.
Shane Board, who contacted Mr. Telensky after signing up for a SkillsTrain home study web-design course said “Because of my diabetes I was unable to focus on my school studies fully. Being able to study from home on the SkillsTrain web design course means that I can run a worthwhile career alongside my singing and acting aspirations.
The combination of that and Mr. Telensky’s generosity means that I can now fulfil my dreams in spite of my illness. I love the web design course and I love singing and now I can do both and benefit Diabetes research at the same time”.
Mr. Jan Telensky is a generous sponsor of a number of youth initiatives, largely concerned with young people who achieve against adversity. He is a sponsor of the Dunstable College Student of the Year Awards, he is a founder sponsor of the YOPEY Awards (Young People of the Year) and is a generous benefactor to the University of Bedfordshire, equipping the Computing Department with £60,000 worth of new computers in July 2007.
His considerable business success is the result of Jan Telensky’s own achievement over adversity, capitalism over communism, having escaped the left wing regime his home country of Czechoslovakia in the last 1960s. After spending his first two weeks in Britain on a park bench at Dunstable cemetery he went on to work on the Vauxhall production line, later taking a security job at Luton Airport. Within 10 years of his arrival in Britain, he had invested in property and was a millionaire. He went on to buy Europe’s leading secretarial training institute Scheidegger, which ultimately has grown into a highly successful IT and office training college, under the brand, SkillsTrain.
Mr. Telensky added “Shane deserves considerable success for the way in which he has overcome his debilitating disease and I am honoured to add my support to his fund-raising efforts for Diabetes UK”.
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Press contact: Mary Stuart-Miller, 01403 738844. m.stuart-miller@
