Trainees at Leonardo in Yeovil presented a cheque for £50,000 to a charity that transforms the lives of young people and adults across Somerset.

The donation to PROMISEworks was the result of two years of intensive fundraising by the trainees.

The charity, which aims to boost the self-esteem and future prospects of vulnerable individuals through one-to-one mentoring, said the funds will support 12 mentees on their two-year mentoring journey.

The cheque was handed over at a special dinner celebrating the achievements of the Leonardo Early Careers Trainees.

They received certificates for completing their courses from Adam Clarke, managing director of Leonardo Helicopters UK.

Ali Hart, general manager for PROMISEworks, said: "We are so grateful to the trainees who have worked so hard to fundraise for PROMISEworks over the last couple of years.

"What brilliant and dedicated people who, not only work hard to build their careers but also to support local charities by raising significant amounts of money.

"It’s a fantastic model which more organisations could benefit from adopting."

The charity said its volunteers often provide the only stable adult presence in their mentees’ lives, creating a framework of mutual trust and respect.

Freya Andrews, chair of the Leonardo Trainee Charity Committee, added: "Together, we've worked with determination to reach our fundraising goal, and it has been an incredibly rewarding journey to support PROMISEworks.

"During the celebration, we reflected back on everything we’d done over the past two years to raise money from cake runs and mini site abseils to the Yeovil Half Marathon and it gave us all such a feeling of pride."

Molly Dugmore, a Leonardo sales and marketing graduate, recounted one of their most challenging fundraising activities, a two-day hike over Dartmoor.

She explained: "None of us had ever used maps or done anything like it before and at one point, it got really tough especially on the second day.

"We had seven miles to go over wild open moorland and all you wanted to do was just say, ‘Look, I'm just going to call and get them to pick me up’.

"But we didn’t give up and we made sure no one was left behind.

"For me, that’s what PROMISEworks is all about, they don’t leave anyone behind."