The 49 year old entrepreneur, who has a number of business interests in the region, became well known nationally in the leisure market, after taking over Waterworld on Hanley’s Festival Park. He also gained national prominence after appearing on Channel 4’s Secret Millionaire.

Mr Chaudry, who’s passionate about sport – and in particular Cricket – decided to start the fund after he heard that Government match funding was available to anyone who started a permanent endowment fund for the benefit of the community. A permanent endowment fund is where money is professionally invested on the stock market and the dividends paid out are used for grants.

Mo told this publication “North Staffordshire has a history of cultivating top sporting talent. Whether it be the likes of World Squash Champion, Angela Smith, England Hockey Olympic Gold medallist, Imran Sherwani or England Cricketer, Dominic Cork, I want to help ensure this excellent reputation continues. As this fund is permanent, it’ll not only outlive me, but I expect it to make a significant difference to future sport across North Staffordshire for generations to come”

The fund is being run by The Staffordshire Community Foundation, which encourages individuals and companies to give back to communities in a way that’ll ensure long-term benefit. It’s chief executive, Terry Walsh, said “we’re very pleased to have Mo Chaudry on Board. We hope he’ll be the first of many who passionately care about the area, to show it in a way that’ll ensure help will always be available for North Staffordshire’s future generations.” The fund will begin paying out grants early in 2011.

Notes to editors:

• Up until March 31st 2011, anyone who starts a permanent endowment fund for the benefit of Community Groups in Staffordshire may be eligible for 50% match funding from the Government’s Grassroots initiative. To qualify, the fund has to be run by The Staffordshire Community Foundation. Details can be obtained from it’s CEO Terry Walsh on 01782-683000.

• Mo Chaudry is available for photo opportunities and more detailed quotes.
on 01782 255024/205747 or mobile 07845533595

“It was a great honour to receive this award from my peers. My greatest wish is that I can be a positive role model for the next generation and encourage them to live fruitful and progressive lives, and to contribute to society in a meaningful way,” said Mr Chaudry, who is the Chairman of WaterWorld (the UK’s largest and most successful aqua based theme park) and M.I.C Group.

The awards recognise individuals and enterprises of Pakistani origin for their excellence and positive contributions to the image of Pakistan and who act as best example of Britishness. It is a major event in the Pakistan calendar.

The star of Pakistan award is Pakistan’s highest civil award. Mr Chaudry was awarded the “star” honor for his contribution to British Society, in promoting positive community cohesion, and his many business and charitable dealings in Pakistan and the UK.

The awards were presented by Mr Wajid Shamsul Hasan (The High Commissioner of Pakistan) who commented that: “Mr Chaudry is a fine example of a British Pakistani, who it truly self made and a fantastic example to all, with a huge amount of motivation and hard work that anything is possible.

We are proud to be honouring him with the “Star of Pakistan”, it is truly deserved!”

The event was attended by 550 VIPs including stars of film and TV, business tycoons and high achievers in their fields. Two of last year’s ‘star award’ winners were Amir Khan (Boxing) and James Khan (Dragons’ Den).

Mo Chaudry, Asian entrepreneur and star of Channel 4 TV’s ‘Secret Millionaire’, is determined to put arranged marriage on the General Election agenda.

Mr Chaudry, who owns the famous Waterworld attraction at Stoke-on-Trent, has been at the forefront of the campaign to criminalise arranged marriage in the UK for several years.
Speaking after David Cameron visited a Staffordshire brewery on Tuesday Mr Chaudry said: “Mr Cameron denounced the practice; in which girls and boys are forced into marrying someone they do not want to, when we discussed the problem two years ago. He told me that a Conservative government would consider making forced marriages a criminal offence.”
Tory legislation, proposed at the time, would include making would-be brides and grooms come to Britain to get married. Also, their partners in the UK would have to be at least 21 years of age.
British nationals travelling abroad to marry will have to register in the UK beforehand if they want their marriage recognised for immigration purposes.
300 cases are reported annually to the Government’s Forced Marriage Unit but the true figure is likely to be very much higher.
“It seems utterly bizarre, and frankly unacceptable, that this goes on in Britain – but it does,” said Mr Chaudry.
The Forced Marriages Act already allows for civil actions, but it is unlikely that a high proportion of victims press criminal charges against their own parents. For this reason it is important to give the courts the power to prosecute.
“Forced marriages need to be criminalised. It is a very sensitive and real issue within communities. It is not something we can brush under the carpet. The ideal end product would be to get legislation to make it a criminal offence to force a bride or groom into an arranged marriage. And we need to make sure that statutory bodies like the police act on that legislation,” said Mr Chaudry.

Waterworld boss Mo Chaudry said the hotel, which will allow visitors access to the aqua park at Festival Park, is aimed at tapping into the booming short breaks market.
The development will include three new ‘bigger, better and faster rides’, a beach with real sand and a health and fitness centre which will increase employment at the attraction from 125 to 300.

It is anticipated that the hotel development, which will be next door to the Moat House, will increase visitor numbers to 500,000 and bring a further £7 million into the region’s economy.
Mr Chaudry, who is currently in talks with a hotel operator, said a facelift was needed to turn the business around after spiraling costs and a drop in visitors number to below 400,000.
He said: “This will take Waterworld into the 21st century. We are head and shoulders above the rest in the UK in terms of an aqua park but we want to go further than that and create a leisure world where visitors will come and spend a few days.”…

Mr Chaudry plans to build two water’s edge restaurants, a new ‘beach’ area with special lighting that imitates sunlight, a ‘Wellness’ centre (include beauty treatments, saunas and Jacuzzis), a new health and fitness club (including the first ice cave in the UK), sun decking and an interactive play area for youngsters.

Waterworld, which is already the most popular aqua attraction in the UK, will expand to cover an additional 35,000 square feet, making a total 105,000 sq/ft. The first phase of Waterworld’s development included Little Gym, Lady Zone, Subway, Café Bar and merchandising outlets.

Mr Chaudry, who represents the Destination Staffordshire tourism and marketing partnership, has championed the need for investment in the Stoke area for many years.

“I witnessed the decline and decay of Stoke on Trent in the 1980s and 1990s as the coal pits and steel industry closed and the ceramics industry waned. The grim industrial environment is now changing dramatically,” said Mr Chaudry.
Waterworld’s twelve acre site is arguably the best development location in North Staffordshire; within the urban core and backing onto the Trent & Mersey canal.
“This redevelopment is a fantastic opportunity to bring life into this problem area, open up the canal side in Stoke-on-Trent for all to enjoy and provide local employment,” said Mr Chaudry.

His future plans for the leisure complex include the development of a secret ‘winter’ tourist attraction and building a hotel and self-catering accommodation so that Waterworld can tap into the growing short-break market and become an all year round leisure resort.

NEWS NOTE: Waterworld has been granted a 100% bill of health by the Institute of Qualified Lifeguards (IQL) following their annual external verification last month. The IQF commented that Waterworld’s lifeguard training arrangements where ‘excellent’ which is excellent news for the resort from the point of view of public safety and the visitor experience. It also enables Waterworld to carry on providing training and employment opportunities for young people looking to enter into the leisure industry.

Nelson, a former under-20 European 200m gold medalist, lost his central funding after struggling with injury problems for most of last season.
Mr Chaudry, who owns the famous Waterworld tourist attraction at Stoke-on-Trent, has stepped in to provide Nelson with a five-year sponsorship to support his campaign to compete at London 2012 and beyond.

“To me this is an opportunity to support a supremely talented local athlete who has the potential to put Stoke-on-Trent on the map in a big way. How good will that be for all of us if he makes the Olympic final? I would like to set up a fund to help other young sporting talent, and I encourage other would-be sponsors to do likewise and give our future Olympians the best chance of success,” said Mr Chaudry.

“This sponsorship money will be a massive help,” said 20 year-old Alex Nelson. “These funds will allow me to fly out to Arizona for warm weather training with my coach. Without Mo’s help this trip, that is vital to my preparation for the season, simply wouldn’t happen.”

A committed philanthropist, Mr Chaudry is also well known for his sporting prowess. He won a silver medal in the 1983 British student Olympic weightlifting championships and has won plaudits for his martial arts and amateur boxing exploits. He also played under 19’s cricket for Warwickshire, winning full caps for Shropshire County Cricket Club.
He received honorary degrees from Keele University and Staffordshire University in 2008, where he had previously studied sports science.

“The Tories have pledged help to the tourism and leisure sector,” said Mr Chaudry. “We are hoping that reform of the tax system will result in reduced VAT for leisure activities, which would align Britain with the rest of Europe.”

Mo Chaudry is passionate about regeneration of the city and youth employment. He is a mentor with PM Training in Stoke, who announced their 10,000th successful apprenticeship last month.

Mr Chaudry fully supports James Rushton, the Conservative Candidate for Stoke South’s petition, ‘Next Stop Stoke’, which hopes to ensure that any future high speed train service does not bypass Stoke station as is the current plan.

Waterworld has collected over 500 signatures so far, and Mr Chaudry is calling on the owners and customers of other major attractions to show their support.

“The fast track train is vital for the regeneration of Stoke-on-Trent and would be integral in the relocation of government and civil service jobs,” said Mr Chaudry.

“James is the local candidate that we need. He has the ideas and the energy to take this City forward.”

The League, one of the best ECB Premier Leagues in the Country, had a magnificent season last year culminating in their representative team winning the League Cricket Conference Trophy. Last week there was further good news when they were adjudged the best Senior Team in The Sentinel Stoke-on-Trent Sports Awards, held at the Moat House Hotel on Festival Park.

Formed in 1962, the League has gone from strength to strength and now has eight divisions –
four 1st XI and four 2nd XI – with 44 clubs and 96 teams competing in their competitions each week. Each club must have several junior teams to qualify for membership, some having as many as 6 sides, comprising male and female players, and they must be coached by ECB accredited coaches.

Many Test and First Class County players started their careers with clubs in the League including Bob Taylor, Ken Higgs, Peter Gibbs, Kim Barnett, Dave Follett and Alan Richardson, whilst more recently Dan Redfern and David Wheeldon have made their First Class County debuts. Also, many of the World’s finest international stars have graced the playing fields of clubs within the League including Jim Laker, Sir Garfield Sobers, Wes Hall, Nasim ul Ghani, Mushtaq Ahned, Imran Tahir, Shahid Afridi, Otis Gibson, Vasbert Drakes, Alfonso Thomas and Albie and Morne Morkel. The League has become renowned for bringing these world famous players to play against the best of local talent, something that very rarely happens in any other sport.

The Waterworld Group of companies are to sponsor 3 of the Divisions:
Premier division: Waterworld
Championship Div 2: ASC Financial Management
Championship Div 3: Little Gym.
JSW Insurance will head up Championship Division One.
The master agreement for all the 4 divs was signed last week by the Waterworld Chairman Mo Chaudry and the league Chairman Chris Hopkin.
The League with receive a considerable five figure sum over the next four years plus a significant opportunity for clubs to gain financially by working with the Sponsors.
Dukes recently finalised a new three year contract to supply cricket balls to the League, whilst the Hanley Economic Building Society and the Sentinel have agreed to continue their sponsorship of the Talbot Cup and Talbot Shield respectively.
Gary Stanyer, from Spyderbats in Tunstall, has also agreed to continue his support of the League Colts Trophy competition which had a most successful first season last year.
However, despite talks with several interested parties, the League has yet to conclude deals for two important parts of its structure – the extremely popular Twenty/20 competition and the newly formed League Development XI who are to play a series of matches against First Class County Second XI and Academies during the forthcoming season.

Keith Tunnicliffe, the League Manager, said “The League is recognised as one of the best Premier Leagues in the Country by the ECB, and we are always striving to improve our administration, grounds and facilities, coaching for junior players, fair play and general standards of cricket. All players within the League are encouraged to play at the highest level possible, and the commitment of the League officials is to provide the best possible opportunities, especially for our younger players. The unsung heroes at our clubs devote much time and effort to accommodate players from all walks of life and provide a competitive game of cricket for them to test their skills. This sponsorship will help stabilise our finances, assist clubs to meet the rising costs of running such a large organisation, and hopefully improve our profile throughout the community. We have always had great pride in the high calibre players attracted to play in our League, and the magnificent work put in by our clubs in improving their facilities in order to develop our talented youngsters, thus creating an excellent safe environment for them to play their sport. The sponsors now involved with the League are not only providing financial assistance to help us progress to the next level, but they are also prepared to give our individual clubs the opportunity to raise much needed funds for themselves.”

PM Training, a social enterprise which tackles worklessness among young people, marked the milestone by handing teenager Jess Wakefield a life-changing opportunity.

The 17-year-old, from Cross Heath, was given a golden ticket to embark on a painting and decorating apprenticeship – a career that she has long dreamed of.

“I have always been interested in art and design but thought that painting and decorating was a job for boys,” said Jess, a former pupil at St. John Fisher High School.
“When I left school I gave hair and beauty a go but knew all along that my heart wasn’t in it.”

Unemployment in the North Staffordshire area may be higher than regional and national averages, but Jess was determined not to become another statistic.

“Connexions introduced me to PM Training and I haven’t looked back,” said Jess, who recently began an NVQ course in painting and decorating.
She added: “To be offered an apprenticeship is fantastic and now I’m really looking forward to the future.”

Mo Chaudry, who shot to fame on Channel 4’s The Secret Millionaire, also presented Jess with an annual pass to WaterWorld to mark her achievement.

The self-made millionaire, who has a strong track record in creating and sustaining employment and generating business in the regional economy, joined forces with PM Training last year to act as a mentor to the hundreds of young local people that the organisation helps.

He said: “I realised following the life changing experience on Secret Millionaire that young people need positive role models in their lives in order to become more motivated, gain confidence and make a go of their lives.
“As a result I have relished the opportunity to work with young people at PM Training. Jess is an excellent example of such a person who now believes that anything is possible.”

PM Training, part of the Aspire Group, is consistently the most successful training provider in Staffordshire with apprenticeship opportunities in construction trades, business administration, engineering, landscaping, manufacturing and customer services.

Chief Executive Will Nixon said: “We have been supporting and supplying apprentices to local companies since 1982.
“Celebrating our 10,000th learner is not only a major milestone for us, but an achievement for the community too – we are successfully working together to transform employment prospects for the region.
“Jess is a first class example of an enthusiastic young person who has been given the skills, support and opportunities that she needed to turn her life around.”

For more information: Anna Watts or Jeremy Kemp at Quicksilver PR on
01564 773366 or 07817 249 793

Mo Chaudry, who shot to fame as one of Channel 4’s ‘Secret Millionaires’, oversaw the presentations yesterday when Staffordshire training providers’ reached the milestone of its 10,000th apprentice.

“PM Training deserve a much higher profile than they have,” said Mr Chaudry, who owns the WaterWorld attraction in Stoke-on-Trent. “They provide over 1,000 job and training opportunities each year and 70% of their trainees go on to pursue long-term training or permanent employment – that is one of the highest success rates in the country!”
PM Training operates as a social enterprise (a business with social objectives) targeting unemployed teenagers who leave school without qualifications, as well as those facing exclusion from education.

Chief Executive Will Nixon said: “We have been supporting and supplying apprentices to local companies since 1982.

“Celebrating our 10,000th learner is not only a major milestone for us, but an achievement for the community too – we are successfully working together to transform employment prospects for the region.”

Their 10,000th success, 17-year-old Jess Wakefield, was given the opportunity to embark on a career that she has long dreamed of when she was enrolled on a painting and decorating apprenticeship yesterday.
Unemployment in the North Staffordshire is way above the national average, but Jess is determined not to become another statistic.
“To be offered an apprenticeship is fantastic and now I’m really looking forward to the future,” she said.
Mr Chaudry, who has become a champion of creating and sustaining employment in Staffordshire, joined forces with PM Training last year to act as a mentor to the hundreds of young local people that they help.
“I realised while making Secret Millionaire that young people need positive role models in their lives in order to become more motivated, gain confidence and get on in life,” he said.
“As a result I have relished the opportunity to work with young people at PM Training. Jess is an excellent example of such a person who now believes that anything is possible.”