Doing our bit

Now more than ever, charities are a lifeline for so many people, providing essential support, advice and resources.

But there’s a real risk that vulnerable people could miss out on life-changing support in the future. The pandemic has hit charities hard: 1 in 10 are facing bankruptcy this year.

This makes us think, what can we do to help?

We want to make a real difference to charities that are struggling at the moment. And in the process, make our team feel a part of our wider communities so they can feel more connected to others during these long periods of isolation.

If there’s one thing we aren’t short of, it’s ideas. One we are particularly excited about is a charity event for our team this month.

The idea is to encourage our team members to take part in individual challenges, and perhaps even include the wider team in what they’re doing. The more they do, the more money we will donate to charities that are important to us.

We’ve split the challenges by our offices.

• If just 10% of the team in one office do something, then we’re going to give £100 to charity. That’s a minimum of £500 if a member in every office gets involved.
• If 50% of our team gets involved in a challenge, we’ll be giving £500 to charities. This could turn into £2,500 across our offices.
• If we can get almost everyone motivated and active (90%), we’ll give £1,000 per office. That would mean a maximum of £5,000 for charities.

There’s huge potential here for a significant donation. In turn, our team members can have some fun, learning and growing from their challenges while making an impact in their local communities. You can keep tabs on our progress via Twitter, Instagram or LinkedIn.

Ever since our inception ten years ago, we’ve been helping communities and charities near and far. Here’s an insider look into what we’ve been up to recently.

• In our Cotswolds office, Anneliese is doing 300,000 steps (equivalent to around 136 miles) for Focus, a charity which supports the Gloucestershire Oncology Centre, directly impacting local cancer patients and their families.
• Our Exeter team has been getting their hands muddy for Farms for City Children. The charity gives children from disadvantaged communities access to green spaces to improve their wellbeing.
• Lead by Scott, an ecologist consultant at Tyler Grange, the Birmingham team has been raising money for Teenage Cancer Trust.
• Aaron and the London team have come together to work with the East London Business Alliance, helping to create internships to support disadvantaged communities.
• The Manchester team continues to support the annual Cash for Kids’ ‘Mission Christmas’ campaign.
• The Manchester team is also seeking to work further with Ahead Partnership, an organisation that boosts diversity and social inclusion between employers and educators.

We always encourage and support each other to grow personally. Bonus: the healthier and happier our team is, the better equipped we are to give back to communities.

Some of us are reconnecting with the simple things we’ve neglected recently, such as going out on a bike ride, walking more and finding the time to pause from work and be more social.

While others are taking things a step further. For instance, Joe has decided to spend the month dressed up as David Brent from the office. Because why not?

Nathan is greasing himself up for the Happy Meal Challenge (he’s just hardcore like that). While Milly is going a million miles in the other direction with veganism.

It’s little steps like these that bring us closer together as a team while ensuring we grow as individuals.

We’ll be sharing our charitable and personal endeavours on social media. There may even be an opportunity for you to get involved, so check in regularly on Twitter, Instagram or LinkedIn.