Sense is opening up its charity shops to an Apprentice-style challenge in which teams of people from various companies will take over a shop for a day and compete to see who can raise the most money.

Battleshops is due to take place on Thursday 8 March. It is the third year the deafblind charity has run the challenge but the first time it has opened it up to companies beyond its existing corporate partners.

In the first year, Lombard, a finance company, put up 140 staff who took over 25 Sense shops. Last year gas company Shell provided several employees for the contest.

Companies that take part this year will be competing against five employee teams from Iron Mountain, the London-based document storage company that has chosen Sense as its charity of the year for 2012. Sense has around 80 shops and hopes that as many as possible will be involved in the competition.

Teams are challenged to market the day to prospective customers in the weeks leading up to the day and on the day itself, to stock the shop and sell the goods. Sense’s corporate team will provide a dedicated project manager, media promotion, and a pre-challenge event with shop managers and a presentation from a deafblind person. The charity will also provide full training in aspects such as customer service, using clothes steamers, and collecting gift aid declarations.

Sense spokesman Coman Kenny said a big part of the challenge is sourcing stock that will sell well on the day.  Previous challengers have sold items as diverse as themed cupcakes and a ferret. Others have turned their chosen shops into Halloween caves or Christmas wonderlands.

Kenny said Mother’s Day and Easter were likely to figure highly in this year’s contest.

Participants must pay a registration fee of £50 per person and each person must commit to raise £250, though some of this can be raised from other sponsored events before the day itself.

Organisations that want to take part in the Battleshops Challenge should email Sophie Breuil on [email protected].