Tag: Newsroom

In this newsletter we’re sharing stories about; the generosity of the city of Sheffield, all about our Responsible Virtual Christmas Parties, 100 Fundraising ideas for every fundraiser, James Timpsons excellent Times article, success stories from Wakefield, and of course we share some fantastic charities looking for your support this month!

 

Donations in Sheffield on the Investors In Community platform hits 22k! Are the people of Sheffield becoming the most generous?

Sheffield is often named as Britain’s friendliest city, but did you know ‘Sheffielders’ are also generous?

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the charity sector has been hit hard these past few years, with so many seeing donations and funding disappear almost overnight as lockdown was enforced and events were cancelled. At the same time, however, charities have also come under increased pressure for their services due to more people turning up seeking their support.

Investors In Community have, however, seen great generosity amongst those in Sheffield region on the platform, with recent donations taking the total to £22,000 shared across the charities and community projects.

Here are the categories of charities Sheffield has supported:

 

Not only were these direct donations to charities, but some also involved extreme challenges such as a 100km Challenge, an 80ft Abseil and a 360-mile running challenge. Showing that those in Sheffield are not only generous but courageous too.

Philip Webb, Managing Director of Investors in Community, comments:

“These past few years have brought a huge number of challenges for people across the world with so many events cancelled, and fundraising opportunities limited, so we are delighted to see such an incredible amount raised for charities in the Sheffield region. We hope to continue to see this number grow and be matched across all cities in the UK.”

We are so grateful to everyone who’s generously supported charities via the Investors In Community Platform, but there’s still more that can be done. To donate to a good cause today, visit www.investorsincommunity.org

 

James Timpson: “Companies Should Put Charitable Works on The Front of Their Accounts”

James Timpson’s recent article in the Times shows how businesses can and should incorporate charitable giving into their company structure.

In this article, James discusses how important it is to start the right way when exploring Social Impact. At Timpson’s in particular, they began supporting foster families, as this had a personal connection for James whose parents were foster carers themselves. They later moved on to recruiting prisoners, giving them a second chance, and found that in doing this, they solved their recruitment problems at Timpson’s. When involving their colleagues in these initiatives, they found that they engaged most when encouraged to support their local community, so the impact was right in front of them.

Another interesting point brought up was how businesses benefit from these changes in more ways than you’d expect, James states that: “motivating colleagues to use their skills outside the business helps to broaden their experience and improve morale.” Investors In Community has seen the same outcome for early adopters of the IIC platform, when staff were engaged in projects and good causes, they felt passionately about, they felt more engaged and appreciated at work.

It’s clear that Timpson’s knows that Social Impact is no longer a “nice to have” it is an essential part of good business, and more people are calling for businesses to be more transparent about their giving. No longer do we hide this on page 163, this is a page one priority.

Start your businesses Social Impact journey today: https://investorsincommunity.org/

 

100 Fundraising Ideas!

1. Firewalk  – Kicking off with a crazy challenge that is not for the faint of heart: walking across a path of fire for charity, this one is sure to get people interested in your fundraising initiative.
2. Raffle – Ask for donations of items in your community if you’re a charity or as a business, make the prize an extra days holiday or a dinner for two voucher, people will definitely be interested in giving it a go!
3. Hike – Don those hiking boots and get walking! Find interesting local walks and commit to hiking 30 miles in one month, ask friends and family to sponsor you, and if you’d like to make it even more interesting, try finding some tricky trails to send photos and videos to your sponsors of you tackling a tough trek!
4. Dog Show – Get all the dog owners in the area to bring out their pooches for a fun day of showing off their tricks and who can make the cutest puppy face. Raise funds by asking the community to pay a small fee to attend.

5. Abseil – Everyone loves to see people taking on insane challenges, you could abseil 80 feet off of the Monsal Trail bridge in the Peak District, trust me, a lot of people would pay to see it!
6. Community Colour Wall – Grab your colleagues, your neighbours and friends and decide a wall to paint in the community, each person pays £2 to add their mark and by the end of the fundraiser you have a one of a kind art piece in your community and some pretty great funds raised for your chosen charity!
7. Dress Down Day – Do you have a mandatory uniform at your work? Ever considered having a casual day? Well why not do some fundraising in the process! Ask employees to donate £1 to come to work in comfy, casual clothes and donate all the proceeds to charity.
8. Head Shave – This is one for the bold people out there. Trust me, you will definitely get some sponsors out of it!
9. Game Night – Host a community game night and ask for donations to join in on the fun!
10. Bake Sale – What better way to raise money for charity than to bake some delicious treats and sell them to colleagues and friends. You could add some fun twists like baking without a recipe or having a theme to make the whole challenge more exciting!

 

Download our graphic above to read the rest!

 

Wakefield Community Raises £901 For Local Foodbanks!

Wakefield is leading the way and uniting purpose through their campaigns to support their community and for their most recent project they raised £901 for local foodbanks.

In Wakefield district there are 35 food banks, these foodbanks provide food and household items to hundreds of local families in their time of hardship. The foodbanks support needy families all year round, therefore, there is a need for donations, all year round, for them to purchase the items that are needed and your generous donations through the Investors in Community platform enable them to do that.

 

 

Have you booked your Christmas party yet?

It’s a tricky call to make this year and we’ve got the perfect solution to keep your team safe, connected and make sure they have a night to remember!

Bring together your team this Christmas with our specially created Virtual Christmas Parties, whilst raising money for charity!

 

 

Why should I have a virtual Christmas party?

• Keep everyone safe, leave no one out
• Invite 100s of guests; colleagues and customers
• Save your pocket and the planet with the greener way to party
• Avoid disruption with potential restrictions
• Support good causes and help others as a team
• Choose from three fantastic packages including professional entertainers, mixologists, wine experts, comedians and dancers who will have your guests making memories they’ll talk about all through 2022.

 

Best of all, you’ll be giving back!

We will support you as you choose your cause and set up your fundraising project in advance of the event, with marketing support to extend the reach of your project to maximise your fundraising efforts and then we will report back on the real impact you’ve made to your local community.

For each guest that attends your event £10 donation will automatically be donated to your chosen charity or good cause.

Furthermore, the first £100 raised outside of the £10 donations per event attendee will be match funded by Investors in Community.

Full details can be found here: https://investorsincommunity.org/virtualchristmasparty/

Our parties are booking up quickly now, contact us now if you would you like to know more. Our team are available for a call to discuss this anytime!

Contact: Faye Mower

Email: faye.mower@investorsincommunity.org

Contact: Louise Richardson

Phone: 07931 778 147
Email: louise.richardson@investorsincommunity.org

 

We thought we would share some amazing charities with you as well!

Save The Children

Save the Children, was established to improve the lives of children through better education, health care, and economic opportunities, as well as providing emergency aid in natural disasters, war, and other conflicts. Support them here.

In Kind Direct

We believe everyone deserves access to life’s essentials and that no usable product should go to waste. In Kind Direct is the UK charity distributing consumer goods donated by companies to UK charitable organisations working in the UK and overseas. Support them here.

The Charity Shop Gift Card

The Charity Shop Gift Card works to bring sustainable fashion and social value to the high street. But our commitment to doing good doesn’t stop there. Support them here

Teenage Cancer Trust

Every day, seven young people aged 13-24 hear the words “you have cancer”. They will each need specialised nursing care and support to get them through it. We’re the only UK charity dedicated to meeting this vital need – so no young person faces cancer alone. Support them here.

Bodie Hodges Foundation

Our Vision is to give hope to families bereaved of a child by providing a range of services that support grieving families and encourage them to rebuild and remember. Support them here.

Join Investors In Community today to deliver your social impact and align with your purpose.

Sheffield is often named as Britain’s friendliest city, but did you know ‘Sheffielders’ are also generous?

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the charity sector has been hit hard these past few years, with so many seeing donations and funding disappear almost overnight as lockdown was enforced and events were cancelled. At the same time, however, charities have also come under increased pressure for their services due to more people turning up seeking their support.

Investors In Community have, however, seen great generosity amongst those in Sheffield region on the platform, with recent donations taking the total to £22,000 shared across the charities and community projects.

Here are the categories of charities Sheffield has supported:

Not only were these direct donations to charities, but some also involved extreme challenges such as a 100km Challenge, an 80ft Abseil and a 360-mile running challenge. Showing that those in Sheffield are not only generous but courageous too.

Philip Webb, Managing Director of Investors in Community, comments:

“These past few years have brought a huge number of challenges for people across the world with so many events cancelled, and fundraising opportunities limited, so we are delighted to see such an incredible amount raised for charities in the Sheffield region. We hope to continue to see this number grow and be matched across all cities in the UK.”

We are so grateful to everyone who’s generously supported charities via the Investors In Community Platform, but there’s still more that can be done. To donate to a good cause today, visit www.investorsincommunity.org

In this newsletter we’re sharing stories about; the importance of food banks in Wakefield and how they provide access to food to families in need.  We share about Kendal Torchlight Carnival who would appreciate your support to enable them to keep their Carnival running for the 52nd year! IIC interviews Thrive Law and Jodie Hill to discuss Social Value and how their sector gets involved. And we also hear from one of our fantastic Ambassadors Johnny Pawlik!

An interview with Jodie Hill – Founder and Managing Partner of Thrive Law:

You are taking the lead on measuring, tracking, and recording your social value impact through our platform – what led to this decision and is it ingrained in your company cultures and values?

We have been supporting local community initiatives around us for some time and helping specific charities in the mental health space, but we weren’t monitoring our activity. We had no record of what we were doing and how much time we were spending on our voluntary work across the business at all. As a business we are quite data driven and we wanted to know how many hours we give to our community and recording the ways that we help people was important as well as understanding more about the impact we were having through the work we are doing.

We have always run events and helped support others through our contacts, but we have never had a formal process on what sort of charities we were going to support and why. I wanted everyone to be involved, so during a team day everyone chucked in their charities and initiatives they wanted to be involved with and we took all those names and placed them on a board (anonymously) and then voted on them as a team. We decided on how we are going to help the charities, and would it be as teams or individuals and how often would we be helping. The Investors in Community platform would then come in to play and let us know who had worked on what, where had they done it and what time was given to each charity or community initiative and has now helped formalise the process we were looking for and not just about how much money we can make each project but what impact were we genuinely giving back to our community.

I also like the individual perspective on the platform and how it can transfer from organisations because each person can be doing way more on their own accord but included it as part of that system. I know it’s a personal preference and each employee needs to be encouraged at times to help give back, but they have a choice to work within the team or do something independently which says something about that person and it’s good to see the work they do over and above the work at Thrive.

I don’t think people realise how much they do themselves and if you sit down and recall all the time they do give to charities in terms of time. Many of the team will do a walk or charity run and I’m a champion for LawCare which is a mental health charity for Lawyers and support Leeds MIND with pro bono training and advice to name just a few, and found we don’t think to put down our time for all the charity work we do and now I can already think of 10 different charities I do give my time to and that is adding real value but isn’t recorded anywhere.

Is it fair to say that most law firms don’t really value time given to generating social impact when time is all about chargeable hours?

As a law firm we don’t have a billable hours target. What we do have is behavioural links to an overall target.  This drive the important of the right behaviours.  Its not just about what money lawyer bill but about the value they add more widely. For example, some of team some may not have billed loads of hours that week or month, but they will have added value somewhere else in the business or completed their charity work. To Thrive Law its more about what a person brings as their whole value as a person rather than being a billing machine. In our 1:1s every month we have our behavioural scores but with the platform we can now monitor their behaviour on an annual basis too and looking back over the year we will now have another layer of data showing what value that individual brings. We offer a free helpline service to different charities and free advice from legal to non-legal and helping the homeless and it would be good to see where we are spending most of our time in these areas. Our culture is more about being a team player rather than as an individual and if you do meet your financial target for the month but not demonstrated any additional contribution then over the year your score will affect your overall results. The conventional way in a law firm would be based on your billable hours and which clients you had brought in. That’s not how we do it and law firms have to think differently in this new age. Thrive Law is a business and yes, we are here to make money, but we are also here to make a difference, to give back and want to add value to the wider society.

Thrive Law is a business with purpose, and we want to attract the right employees and the right clients. For us its more about driving our purpose  and values rather than just being a law practice delivering on the letter of the law.  At Thrive Law People Matter.

There are other firms out there that do a lot on social impact, but the consensus is that the focus is on billable hours. It’s a personal view but there larger the firm the more the value of the deal takes over from the purpose and it becomes a culture view. Do I want to work with a firm that puts purpose first or is it about making a millionaire more millions first?

 

‘People can’t put food on the table without help’ – Wakefield district’s food banks are asking you to give them your support.

Food Bank support has declined over the past eight months but the need for their service has increased. That’s according to Community Foundation Wakefield, which has started a new fundraising drive to help the district’s 35 food banks put food on people’s plates.

Lisa Grant, the manager of St Catherine’s Church food bank in Wakefield, said it had been a tough time for people in need. She said: “Demand has definitely increased. We are seeing a lot of families who have been made redundant or on furlough so have seen a dip in income. For most of our clients it is crucial that they get to the food bank because they have no means of buying food after the bills are paid – they are flat broke. We have more families coming to us who are absolutely desperate. Some of the kids just wouldn’t eat without getting help.”

Lisa said people who would often donate have been going into to shops less and people in general are being more careful with money.

She said: “Everyone is worried about different things but food banks are not going away. I would love to see the day they all shut down because there was no need for them but that’s not going to happen anytime soon.”

Wakefield BID is working with Community Foundation Wakefield and Investors in Community on the project. Business Development Director Dave Clarkson said: “The Investors in Community platform is the most effective way of connecting organisations, individuals, charities, and community groups to show that by working together powerful and evidenced social impact can be created. As food banks have grown it is noted that the shelves have become half empty, food donations have declined over the past eight months. It’s not only food donations and volunteering that is required, but there is also the financial cost of running these services. This is the campaign we wish to highlight, and monetary donations are needed to keep each of these services running right throughout the year.”

The past 18 months of pandemic meant food banks had to face new challenges. The national lockdown over the winter in particular brought little respite for food banks. Volunteers had to learn new ways to distribute food to meet social distancing guidelines while continuing to rely of the public’s kindness to keep their shelves stocked. Food banks reported record numbers of people needing help throughout 2020.

The Trussell Trust, which supports a network of food banks around the county, said 2,600 emergency food parcels were provided for children every day on average by its food banks during the first six months of the pandemic alone. And there were countless example of citizens taking matters into their own hands to help others.

Wakefield teenager Megan Rodd launched her own food bank and supported hundreds of people every week since the start of the first lockdown. Schools held collections for food banks and people stepped up to deliver vital supplies.

Search Investors in Community Wakefield food banks for a page where you can donate.

 

Kendal Torchlight Carnival Needs Your Help!

“By the people, for the people” – Torchlight History.

Kendal Torchlight Carnival started in 1970 and has almost always been held on the Friday following the Westmorland County Show in September.

Torchlight content has varied over the years from just 30 float entries in the beginning to over 130 floats, bands, carnival and dance troupes and other artists at its peak and has always been a gathering for the people of Kendal and surrounding areas, for our visitors and guests – “A gathering for the town, for the surrounding areas, for everyone – people entertaining people!”

This year we need donations to help the Carnival run better than ever before!

Find out more about Kendal Torchlight Carnival here.

Check out what your donation can help them do:

• £1,000 pays for festoon lighting (pretty lightbulb strings) to help create a magical atmosphere in the park after dark.
• £800 pays for a band (5 musicians to play on our main stage). This will be our main headline band to play on Saturday afternoon in the market square. There are 5 musicians, keyboard, saxophone, trumpet, bass guitar, guitar.  Due to covid they haven’t been able to perform.
• £50 will provide materials resources for community groups and schools to make an entry
• £100 would light 20 lanterns (£5 a lantern)

 

 

A Word From One Of Our Ambassadors, Johnny Pawlik:

“Many of us want to give and do more for our communities, to be a part of the solution, improving the lives of others and making our environments safer, happier, and more resilient. This is only possible when we work together under a common purpose. Investors In Community creates the space for that collaboration to take place, coalescing communities to constructively collaborate for the benefit of all.”

“I’m honoured to be an ambassador for the IIC because, like many others, I believe in leaving the world a little better than how I found it.”

I help ethics first organisations, driven by purpose and positive impact to competently and effectively brand and market themselves. I also help leaders to develop different ways of thinking, to engage with both macro and micro-level perspectives to create solutions for complex challenges.

Oxford-educated with over 21 years of international experience in branding, marketing, and strategy, I’ve had the opportunity to consult with the European Parliament, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, British Members of Parliament, the NHS, the UKTI, and a plethora of others. I’ve been featured on Good Morning Britain, the BBC Political Debates, BBC Radio, Osaka Radio, Asahi Shimbun, and many others.

I’m the Founder and CEO of the international branding and marketing firm, Mantra Media, and the Co-Founder of the Japanese luxury retail brand, Atelier Japan. I like to keep connected and impactful outside of my day-to-day by giving my time to some incredible organisations, causes, and societies. I’m currently an Ambassador for (IIC) Investors in Community, a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and Commerce, a Guest Chair for the Intelligence Forums, and a member of Deloitte’s Climate Action Coalition.

We thought we would share some amazing charities with you as well!

Barnabus

We empower and equip people experiencing homelessness back into independent living and a home through our street outreach, support centre, healthcare and resettlement tenancy scheme. Support them here

Sheffield Hospitals Charity

Helping local patients feel even better. With your support Sheffield Hospitals Charity can help to ensure patients receive outstanding treatment and care. Support them here.

Airplay Coningsby

Airplay at RAF Coningsby is funded by the RAF Benevolent fund to provide safe, supervised activities for children and young people from RAF Coningsby and the local community. Support them here

Leicester Animal Aid

Leicester Animal Aid is a rescue and rehoming centre for cats and dogs. Every year we care for around 400 animals that are lost, abandoned, unwanted or relinquished because their owners can no longer care for them. We provide care for up to 40 dogs and 30 cats at any one time. Support them here.

 

 

Join Investors In Community today to deliver your social impact and align with your purpose.

 

 

We’re kicking off with the Sheffield College and IIC partnership for the 500 Purpose Challenge:

The IIC 500 Purpose Challenge has been developed by Investors In Community (IIC) to give young people the opportunity to broaden and develop their skillsets. Through a series of events or development of a mini enterprise, students start to engage with mentors and businesses to formulate their challenge ideas.

From there seed funding of £50 is provided by businesses registered on the IIC platform. The young people are then helped and guided through a planning phase to kick start and shape their ideas further. Individuals or teams on the Purpose Challenge look to turn their £50 in to £500+ with the final total being donated to a charity or community project agreed on by the students and/or business.

The first to get involved in this project were The Door Openers, UNIHEADS Ambassadors from The Sheffield College. Shani Hammon, Employer Relationship Coordinator for the award-winning employer skills academies programme at The Sheffield College, said: “We were initially drawn to this project because this was an opportunity for the students to develop their skills and understand projects centred around social value. It was also an opportunity for the College to build relationships with local businesses and other community organisations.”

The Sheffield College were delighted with the successful outcome.  Shani Hammon said: “Raising money for Door 43 at Sheffield Futures has allowed the students to see how important mental health and wellbeing is for young people. This organisation was the reason we launched the UNIHEADS Mental Health and Wellbeing Academy so it’s wonderful to see our students getting involved in this support through exciting challenges such as these.

Read the full case study here.

Investors In Community Interview Julia Goodman:

“Find your authentic core and then carry that everywhere, because your individual voice will make a difference.”

So, Julia, how has the charitable sector changed over the years you have been involved? Are you finding more businesses and individuals getting involved now people, especially Millennials and Gen Z’s, are demanding this change?

Julia: Funnily enough, just this morning I was notified that the boss of a big private equity firm that we work with has said that their next offsite is going to have ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) at its heart. ESG is something that I have been on the periphery of for years in terms of how I have tried to influence people, certainly in my business work, to connect with and act on what they know to be right, to let their goodness and conscience dictate their behaviour and that of their company.

What are your driving values in business today and how do they align with IIC’s values?

Julia: I have a very emotionally strong connection to doing what is right, with community being a huge passion of mine, but I also have quite a commercial side to me too; that came from my family, going back six generations, who were all creative people, artists, actors, singers, who also ran businesses.  I think that mix aligns pretty closely with IIC’s values.

If you could offer one piece of advice on finding your brand, what would that be?

Julia: Finding your voice is about listening to who you know you are and working with that first. If you had something to say, what would it be?  And how would you say it? That’s key! My mantra is “Show up … stand up … speak out … be you!”

Read the rest of the interview here.

Camphill Village Trust Host ‘Crafternoon Tea’ and the IIC team couldn’t wait to get involved!

“Raising funds for Camphill Village Trust means you are helping more people with learning and other disabilities to lead a life of opportunity.

The people we support have been involved in the project from the beginning, helping to design the activities and hosting their own parties. This really is a team effort!

Craft kits available to order

Our community members have helped put together some craft kits containing everything you’ll need for some creative activities for you and up to four guests to enjoy.”

Check out the IIC team enjoying our own Crafternoon Tea to support Camphill Village Trust!

 

Sense, Left Out Of Life Campaign:

A message from Sense:

Dear All,

The severe impact of the pandemic has meant that loneliness has dramatically increased over the last year, with many disabled people isolated and cut off from their local communities.

We’re concerned that unless we support and prioritise disabled people as we start to come out of lockdown, they will be left behind. Please take a well spent moment from your busy lives to check out our #LeftOutOfLife campaign.

Join with us. Watch and share our very short film to hear how small changes can really make a big difference in someone’s life. This campaign aims to tackle loneliness by asking everyone to Think, Ask, Include and help make our local areas more inclusive for disabled people everywhere.

Here are some other fundraising ideas: holding a blind tasting, baking, quiz night, firewalk, skydive, dress down friday or even an abseil. The choices are endless!

Start fundraising today.

A Word From Our Ambassador, Tagore Ramoutar:

“I am really excited  to become part of the Investors In Community (IIC) family, and to be an Ambassador helping raise awareness of this wonderful platform that brings together charities and companies to create social impact and also creates a way of measuring CSR activity and make it visible.

I value the chance to engage with anyone who is interested in this as I feel passionately from a business side that the benefits of being able to measure CSR activity are huge. I would love to help create a community or ecosystem of local charities and companies in Oxfordshire and / or the craft drinks community.”

Tagore is an award-winning entrepreneurial director and advisor specialising in new business start-ups, high growth potential SME’s and craft drinks.

He is the Co-Founder of The Oxford Artisan Distillery (and was Managing Director from 2018 to 2020). He has over 30 years commercial and management experience (including eleven years at board level and 15 years international experience) and a strong track record of achievement in senior roles in consumer and retail focused industries.

In 2019 he won IOD London and South Director of the Year for start-ups. He remains a Director of Still On The Hill Ltd (the legal name of The Oxford Artisan Distillery) and he is the distillery’s representative on the embryonic English Whisky Guild. In addition he is a director of another start-up distillery in Wiltshire – Ten Hides.

Finally on a more personal note Tagore is the author and publisher of a unique range of children’s books that encourage outdoor exploration by linking the real world with reading and a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.

 

We thought we would share some amazing charities with you as well!

 

Pulse 1 Cash For Kids

Pulse 1 Cash for Kids is a grant-giving charity helping the children that need it most across West Yorkshire, The Yorkshire dales, Harrogate and York. Their mission is to improve the lives of disadvantaged children and young people in their communities. Support them here.

Derbyshire Community Transport

At Derbyshire Community Transport they believe that no one, regardless of age, ability/disability, financial status or domestic location should be prevented from enjoying a full life because of lack of access to transport. They are also seeking a new trustee, volunteer here.

Medical Detection Dogs

Medical Detection Dogs trains dogs to detect the odour of human disease. And they are on the lookout for; Speakers, Fundraisers,
Collection Box Co-ordinators and Leaflet Distributors. Support them here.

The Lake District Calvert Trust

The Lake District Calvert Trust delivers specialist, outdoor activity breaks for people with disabilities using uniquely adapted facilities. Business Leader Sue Howorth is currently doing the Wainwright Challenge in support of them, support her project here.

 

Join Investors In Community today to deliver your social impact and align with your purpose.

The IIC 500 Purpose Challenge has been developed by Investors In Community (IIC) to give young people the opportunity to broaden and develop their skillsets. Through a series of events or development of a mini enterprise, students start to engage with mentors and businesses to formulate their challenge ideas.

From there seed funding of £50 is provided by businesses registered on the IIC platform. The young people are then helped and guided through a planning phase to kick start and shape their ideas further. Individuals or teams on the Purpose Challenge look to turn their £50 in to £500+ with the final total being donated to a charity or community project agreed on by the students and/or business.

The first to get involved in this project were The Door Openers, UNIHEADS Ambassadors from The Sheffield College. Shani Hammon, Employer Relationship Coordinator for the award-winning employer skills academies programme at The Sheffield College, said: “We were initially drawn to this project because this was an opportunity for the students to develop their skills and understand projects centred around social value. It was also an opportunity for the College to build relationships with local businesses and other community organisations.”

The Door Openers team were sponsored by Mantra Media, a Sheffield-based branding and marketing firm, who gave the team advice, guidance, and their seed money of £50. Not only did they receive the donation from Mantra Media to complete the project, they also received an array of donated prizes from some of the College’s employer skills academies sponsors and City Centre businesses; Kier Construction, City Taxis, James Hadley Fine Diamonds, Clarks Shoes, Vulgar Fashion, Thou Art as well as donations from The Silver Plate Restaurant, Revive Hair and Beauty Salon and Gregg Rodgers who provided them with a fantastic custom-made cake. Local businesses showed an overwhelming amount of support for this project which has proved to be an amazing opportunity for employers to network with the future workforce of tomorrow.

The team decided to raise funds for Sheffield Futures, specifically the charity’s program, Door 43, which is a health and wellbeing service that provides free support to young people aged 13-25 in Sheffield and the surrounding areas, helping them through counselling and providing a safe place.

When asked why they chose this charity, the students said: “We know that COVID has had a negative impact on mental health. As ambassadors for UNIHEADS, with a goal to support students and staff with mental health and wellbeing, we recognise how vital Door 43 is for our community. We hope that the money we raise will contribute to the amazing work that Door 43 are doing with young people in Sheffield, and that we will be able to see the positive impact that we have made first-hand.” Shani Hammon added: “Our students are ambassadors for our recently established UNIHEADS Mental Health and Wellbeing Academy. Being able to choose a charity that was relevant for their purpose was the perfect opportunity. Also, Door 43 at Sheffield Futures is a service that our students may need to access at some point in their lives. This opens up the opportunity for them to engage and become aware of the services out there.”

Over the past year, Covid has had a massive impact on mental health for a lot of people and the service provided at Door 43 is an incredible initiative to support young people going through this extreme change. The students have also shown a huge growth in confidence by pushing themselves out of their comfort zones and having this opportunity to innovate after such a long time of projects being put on hold. This challenge has also helped The Sheffield College achieve their goal of providing each of their students with some form of work-related activity and they are thrilled they have been able to combine this activity with giving back to the Sheffield community.

To raise their money, The Door Openers hosted six different events, which spanned across a week from 14th June – 18th June 2021. The events included were a quiz, an Auction of Promise, Sports Day, Create Your Monster, What’s In The Box? and a cake raffle. They saw an excellent turnout with the team achieving the fundraising target and Sheffield Futures are beyond grateful for their hard work! Sheffield Futures shared with us some of the ways the money raised will help local young people:

• £500 is the equivalent of providing a 1:1 counselling session for 25 young people to support them through more complex mental health challenges.
• £500 can provide a 1:1 ‘check-in’ activity for 50 young people from a qualified wellbeing practitioner.
• £480 can fund 8 wellbeing cafés for a group of young people. These are interactive groups led by wellbeing practitioners that enable peer to peer support and provide therapeutic discussions on key issues, such as self-care.

 

Regarding the success of the project, The Door Openers team said: “It is valuable to see how the money we have raised can help Sheffield Futures, especially because the work they do aligns with our passion for supporting young people with their mental health.”

The Sheffield College were delighted with the successful outcome.  Shani Hammon said: “Raising money for Door 43 at Sheffield Futures has allowed the students to see how important mental health and wellbeing is for young people. This organisation was the reason we launched the UNIHEADS Mental Health and Wellbeing Academy so it’s wonderful to see our students getting involved in this support through exciting challenges such as these.

 

“But, without the generous £50 donation from employers such as Mantra Media, we would not be able to provide our students with this real-life work experience. This is crucial because it allows our students to put into practice what they learn in college. Our students have also been able to grow and develop their professional and personal skills and with business leaders like Johnny from Mantra Media, the students have been inspired to continue to develop these skills.

 

“Finally, we want to say a huge ‘thank you’ to Investors In Community who have been a pleasure to work with, they were very supportive of us and our students and encouraged them to create and implement their own ideas into the project.”

 

If you’re interested in learning more about Investors In Community, check out our website: www.investorsincommunity.org or contact us on info@investorsincommunity.org.

The Sheffield College: https://www.sheffcol.ac.uk/

Mantra Media: https://mantrahq.com/

Sheffield Futures: https://app.investorsincommunity.org/charity/196/preview

“Our work supports and creates a white light of courage and truth in everything that we do” – Julia Goodman.

 

Julia was an actor, producer, and director for 27 years. She rose to fame on shows such as Coronation Street, EastEnders, Those Glory Glory Days, The Brothers, The Lotus Eaters and many more. She also founded the British Actors Theatre Company with Kate O’Mara and played leading Shakespearean roles all over the world.

 

Julia stepped out of the acting world in the late 80s and discovered a new passion: helping people find their truth and their ability to project that. The idea came (as all the best ideas do) while lying in the bath, after a European tour playing Lady Macbeth, contemplating how to keep her head above water in a major recession as a divorced, single mother of two children (she was surviving on less than £90 a week social security when not acting). Julia started her company ‘Personal Presentation’ and in just three years turned over her first £1 million.

 

Julia is on the board of BAWE (British Association of Women Entrepreneurs), was on the development board of Dyslexia Action for 17 years, helping to bring it up-to-date, and co-founded the 500 Club as part of the Eve Appeal to raise awareness and money for ovarian cancer research. Throughout her career she has continuously raised money, volunteered, and helped charities promote themselves by developing their communication skill, but felt she could do more. So, Julia was delighted to be invited by Chairman Justin Urquhart Stewart and CEO Philip Webb to be a NED with IIC.

 

Her business, which is rooted in the psychology and techniques of the professional theatre, helps people to find themselves by connecting with their passions, unique perspectives, and beliefs and to become the best version of themselves, and develops their ability to communicate and perform that so that they have a strong personal brand that is recognisable wherever they go – a ‘You Brand’. She is sure to have truth and transparency at the forefront of her business and wants to ensure that everyone feels able to talk about their own truth in a healthy and constructive way. Julia and her team of coaches have helped transform the communication ability of organisations such as KPMG, BP, Cinven and the Bank of England.

 

When asked about why she was keen to join IIC, Julia said “Anything that has a pragmatic, realistic, truthful and courageous element to it, I’m attracted to, and I will bring whatever I can bring to it. IIC simply aligns with my feeling that if you don’t stand up and speak out and do things, then what are you doing?”

 

We are delighted to have Julia’s skillset and experience coming to IIC as we continue to grow our movement to unite purpose.

 

Investors In Community recently had the privilege of sitting down with Julia to discuss her career, advice, and the future of ESG.  Check out the full interview here:

 

So, Julia, how has the charitable sector changed over the years you have been involved? Are you finding more businesses and individuals getting involved now people, especially Millennials and Gen Z’s, are demanding this change?

 

Julia: Funnily enough, just this morning I was notified that the boss of a big private equity firm that we work with has said that their next offsite is going to have ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) at its heart. ESG is something that I have been on the periphery of for years in terms of how I have tried to influence people, certainly in my business work, to connect with and act on what they know to be right, to let their goodness and conscience dictate their behaviour and that of their company.

That’s why the IIC proposition is so exciting and so relevant.  Increasingly, ESG is going to demand transparency, measurement, and accountability.  That’s exactly what the IIC platform’s blockchain-based technology is offering.  So charitable giving will no longer be just a tick box on the ‘being a good business’ checklist.  It will be a piece of solid, objective data that companies can use to demonstrate their ESG credentials, something they can put on their balance sheet.  This is especially important now with investors and shareholders demanding fast, significant – sometimes massive – change in the way companies operate and the standards they set themselves.  Otherwise, they’ll invest elsewhere.  Even if charitable giving is only one small part of ESG, my feeling is that what IIC is helping bring about points the way forward for a wide range of corporate activity. It’s giving ESG more teeth.

The IIC proposition is part of a wider wake-up call to businesses in other ways as well.  Consumers, young and old alike, are becoming increasingly aware of the power that their choices can have in influencing the behaviour of the companies they buy from.  And young people won’t work for companies unless their values measure up, so ESG is becoming a decisive factor in the war for talent as well, which is a really powerful lever. Overall, then, greater ESG transparency will increasingly support the vital process of large-scale transformation that our beleaguered world and planet so badly needs.

At the end of the day, it’s all about asking these businesses “which side of history do you want to be on?”

 

Studies have shown the younger generation are likely to take a lower income as long as their company is offering opportunities for them to volunteer and give back to their community and for the company to show their good as well. Are you excited to see where this movement is headed, and do you see this becoming a long-term positive change for businesses to become more transparent and give back?

 

Julia: In my dreams, yes! Human behaviour being what it is, I can’t deny it’s going to be a rocky road, but I do think the influence of the young is going to force results; however, this is only at its early stages. I believe the biggest problem will be how much power the Next Generation feel they must make this real change and if they have the strength to say no to something they don’t believe in.

I do believe Millennials and Gen Z are working towards this goal and they are already taking more control in their careers which is going to force companies to rethink their strategies.  Just recently I was working with a company that was advertising for interns and they found overwhelmingly the younger generation would ask for things such as flexible schedules and working from home to reduce the long daily commutes. The company in question was shocked that these young people would happily take a lower salary if these needs were met. This, I believe, will translate to more companies developing their ESG initiative in the future but it will need massive and constant push.

 

Do you think IIC will impact this movement?

 

Julia: I think it will, for the reasons I outlined earlier.  But one thing I suggest as the new non-Exec is that IIC needs more of the younger generation to get involved – of course with the support of the older generation in the business.  With that powerful combination I believe this could create a very impactful movement.

IIC is already seeing success from the Next Gen Ambassadors Initiative, and we will be pushing for even more of that in the future.

 

What are your driving values in business today and how do they align with IIC’s values?

 

Julia: I have a very emotionally strong connection to doing what is right, with community being a huge passion of mine, but I also have quite a commercial side to me too; that came from my family, going back six generations, who were all creative people, artists, actors, singers, who also ran businesses.  I think that mix aligns pretty closely with IIC’s values.

Fundamentally, the values in my business are about leading a group of people to a place of truth and real quality of delivery. So, they are very mixed, but at the core of everything I do is the white light of truth, and the truth is not always easy.  So, I especially value courage and bravery.

 

Your work focuses on making people the best versions of themselves they can be, this is a difficult feat and something I’m sure our Next Gens would love to learn more about, so if you could offer one piece of advice on finding your brand, what would that be?

 

Julia: Within us there is a small voice that constantly comes up, sits on our shoulder and says; “this is what you really think”, “this is who you really are” and “this is what you really want” and when you’re young you might find avenues to express this in all sorts of ways, not all of them very good, or you might even find ways of not having to confront it at all.

Finding your voice is about listening to who you know you are and working with that first. If you had something to say, what would it be?  And how would you say it?  That’s key! That is where we come in, the whole idea of You Brand (Julia’s program) is that the first stage is developing the YOU, what you really feel, how you see things and what you want to say.  Through the process of expression and articulation you start to find that voice and once you’ve got that, you’ve got the gold dust. Then it’s time to work on how you speak your truth, remembering that your level of influence depends on how people feel about themselves in your presence. A good exercise is to walk around your house and say, “if I had my chance, I would say this.”  Think about what that is and then think about how you’re going to say it.  A top tip: watch yourself in the mirror as you do it, and check whether what you’re saying is backed up by your facial expression and tone of voice.  You won’t land with the impact you want if you say you’re “really excited” but look and sound bored!  The defining feature of great communication is courage.  Having great stuff inside your head won’t take you very far if you bottle it.  My mantra is “Show up … stand up … speak out … be you!”

 

“Find your authentic core and then carry that everywhere, because your individual voice will make a difference.”

Julia Goodman Joins IIC Board of Directors:

“Our work supports and creates a white light of courage and truth in everything that we do” – Julia Goodman

Julia was an actor, producer, and director for 27 years. She rose to fame on shows such as Coronation Street, EastEnders, Those Glory Glory Days, The Brothers, The Lotus Eaters and many more. She also founded the British Actors Theatre Company with Kate O’Mara and played leading Shakespearean roles all over the world.

Julia stepped out of the acting world in the late 80s and discovered a new passion: helping people find their truth and their ability to project that. The idea came (as all the best ideas do) while lying in the bath after having played Lady Macbeth across Europe and London, and feeling unsure what the future had in store for her as a divorced, single mother of two, living on less than £90 a week social security when not acting. Julia started her company ‘Personal Presentation’ and in just three years, turned over her first £1 million.

Julia has been on the development board of Dyslexia Action for 17 years and has raised money for ovarian cancer through The Eve Appeal. She is on the board of BAWE (British Association of Women Entrepreneurs) has helped form major corporate companies’ ability to communicate such as KPMG and has continuously raised money, volunteered, and supported charities throughout her career but felt she could do more. Her business helps people find themselves through discovering their personal brand, their passions and to become the best versions of themselves and their ability to communicate and perform that. She is sure to have truth and transparency at the forefront of her business and wants to ensure that everyone feels able to talk about their own truth in a healthy and constructive way.

When asked about why she was keen to join IIC, Julia said “Anything that has a pragmatic realistic truthful and courageous element to it, I’m attracted to and I will bring whatever I can bring to it. IIC simply aligns with my feelings that if you don’t stand up and speak out and do things, then what are you doing?”

We are delighted to have Julia’s skillset and experience coming to IIC as we continue to grow our movement to unite purpose.

A Word from a Business On IIC, The Family Business Network, Sue Howorth:

Sue Howorth, Co-Founder & Co-Director of The Family Business Network is currently undertaking the Wainwright Challenge for The Lake District Calvert Trust. Sue has used IIC as the fundraising platform for her challenge, saying  “I found the process of setting up my fundraising page simple and easy to do. The Lake District Calvert Trust were also keen to create a profile on IIC having spoken to them about it. Tracey of IIC was very helpful at guiding us through setting up the project.

“The challenge and fundraising has been a real team effort and it’s been wonderful to have the support of IIC”.

Sue is currently part-way through her 12-month challenge to raise vital funds for the Lake District Calvert Trust.

The Lake District Calvert Trust deliver challenging outdoor adventure experiences for disabled adults and children. The charity was one of many that was forced to suspend their activities as the country went into lockdown early last year.

Sue described how she felt after having seen an article in the media about the impact of Covid on the charity and its visitors, saying, “Having worked in the outdoor industry for a time in my earlier career, I knew that Covid would have a huge knock-on effect for the sector.”

“When I heard the Lake District Calvert Trust talk about how badly their funding had been hit by the pandemic and how it was threatening their survival, it really affected me.  The centre delivers amazing experiences for disabled people and I knew I wanted to support them and give something back to their community.”

When deciding how to go about fundraising, Sue turned to her local environment for inspiration.  She says, “As a resident of Windermere, I’m no stranger to the Lakeland fells but I’d never challenged myself to climb the higher peaks. I always knew I would walk some of the Wainwrights and decided that this would be the perfect challenge.”

For Sue however, this challenge will be no walk in the park – not least because of the sheer number of fells involved. Alfred Wainwright documented 214 fells in his pictorial guides and Sue will be aiming to summit each and every one in just 12 months! Combined with this, Sue does have a fear of heights and coming down steep descents, so this adds to the enormity of the task ahead.

Having completed 35 Wainwrights so far, Sue says her toughest moment to date was descending Ill Bell, a part of the Kentmere Horseshoe. She explained, “We tackled the horseshoe and the winds were high, it was cold and I was losing my nerve. Luckily, my experienced walking companion coaxed me down and we carried on.”

Community Litter Picking on IIC.

Are you wanting to start a Community Litter pick but just can’t figure out where to start? Look no further, Investors In Community’s ‘groups’ feature lets you connect with individuals in your community to create your own community litter picking group!

Here individuals can collect Community Credits for their generous volunteering time and see who from their community is getting involved.

If you’d like to set up your own individual litter picking group, all you need to do is create your own Investors In Community account, create your group in less than 5 minutes and then invite everyone in your community to join!

IIC Abseiling For Support Dogs

On the 22nd May, three members of the Investors In Community team took to the Peak District to abseil 80 feet off of the Millers Dale Bridge! In total, the IIC team raised £250 for Support Dogs.

Roundabout Scotland 500 Challenge!

Roundabout would love to invite you to a brand new event:

IT’S time to rev up and hit the road as Roundabout heads for the Highlands with a major new fundraising challenge in September 2021!

The Scotland 500 is a new Roundabout event that will take motorbike enthusiasts on a 500 mile journey, starting from Inverness and riding off into the rugged splendour of the Highlands.

After a year without travel, it’s the perfect opportunity to enjoy the freedom of the open road and some of the UK’s most spectacular scenery.

What’s included:

• A key member of the Roundabout crew to help you every step of the way
• A fun list of challenges to complete
• An opportunity to win some competitions such as most fundraised or most challenges completed
• A photographer/videographer to help capture the special moments
• A mechanic to support you on the route in case things get a little sticky
• Dinner Friday, Saturday and Sunday
• A Roundabout t-shirt
• The Scotland 500 medal
• A chance to really make the difference to the lives of young homeless people through fundraising

This is a rally, not a race, so there will be plenty of opportunity to take in the incredible views, whilst completing fun and challenging tasks along the route. We will all be getting together each day for a meal so you can join your fellow fundraisers to talk about the day’s ride!

In addition to a deposit of £150 to secure a place, participants are also asked to raise a minimum of £500 each in sponsorship to help support young homeless people across the South Yorkshire region. Roundabout works with over 250 young people every single day who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.

We would love to invite you to take part in what is set to be an incredible challenge. If you would like any more information please do not hesitate to ask or if you would like to sign up, you can do so here and then start fundraising on Investors In Community!

A Word From Our Ambassador, Valentina Hynes:

“Giving, in whatever form is a way to boost mental health and happiness.”

“It creates ripple effects that make for a much more sustainable society. It is the bridge that links Empathy to Compassion. Unfortunately, it is easy to lose track of the good we do, because of the increasing problems in the world and in our society. This is what excites me about Investors in Community. The fact that it is a virtual Happiness/Kindness jar that measures the impact we make through amassed community credits. As a Happiness at work specialist, being an Ambassador for Investors in Community helps me create bonus situations that guarantees everyone wins through increased awareness of social value and corporate social responsibility.” 

Valentina Hynes is an Employee Holistic Wellbeing & Happiness at work Event Planner & Speaker. She provides Continuous Professional Development certified trainings through Away Day Experiences that promote Learning, Mental Health Wellness and personal development for individuals, teams and executives, including DISC Profile and Group Dynamics Assessments. She’s also an Associate Fellow of The Royal Commonwealth Society and she co-owns [SVH Inc.]

Join Our Event: Exploring Social Impact of Purpose-Driven Family Business. 

An online family business event by The Family Business Network in partnership with Investors in Community.

The event will explore the concept of ‘Social Impact’ and how this is identified, measured, valued and demonstrated by family businesses and their teams. Discussions will also consider how family values relate to business values and purpose.

Hear from keynote speakers Tom McGinness (Global Leader of Family Business -KPMG Private Enterprise, UK), Philip Webb (Founder and CEO of Investors in Community) and Ivan Baldwin (Marketing and Business Development at Bechtel Corporation), listen to family business leaders sharing their stories and insight, and a group of next gens explore their vision and aspirations for the future.

Time: Thursday 17 June 2021 at 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM

Book your place.

We thought we would share some amazing charities with you as well!

Roundabout

Working to end the cycle of youth homelessness in South Yorkshire. Offering advice, support, mediation, short term housing, and support into independent living. If you’re interested in helping this wonderful organisation, please follow this link

Yorkshire Wildlife Trust

They are committed to creating a Yorkshire rich in wildlife for everyone. From saving our wildlife and wild places to bringing people closer to nature, they have a vision of a wilder future. For over 70 years, they have been protecting Yorkshire’s wildlife and wild places. If you’re interested in helping this amazing organisation, please follow this link.

Skiggle

Skiggle facilitates and filters each request out to members within the closest geographical area to the SOS in the hope that someone can provide help from their own surplus supply of disability care products. If you’re interested in helping this amazing organisation, please follow this link.

Kineara

They support people to recognise their strengths and resilience in the face of challenging times. They do this by listening to what matters, reconnecting people to their passions and exploring how they might make the most of opportunities. If you’re interested in helping this amazing organisation, please follow this link.

Join Investors In Community today to deliver your social impact and align with your purpose.

Julia Goodman Joins IIC Board of Directors:

“Our work supports and creates a white light of courage and truth in everything that we do” – Julia Goodman

Julia was an actor, producer, and director for 27 years. She rose to fame on shows such as Coronation Street, EastEnders, Those Glory Glory Days, The Brothers, The Lotus Eaters and many more. She also founded the British Actors Theatre Company with Kate O’Mara and played leading Shakespearean roles all over the world.

Julia stepped out of the acting world in the late 80s and discovered a new passion: helping people find their truth and their ability to project that. The idea came (as all the best ideas do) while lying in the bath after having played Lady Macbeth across Europe and London, and feeling unsure what the future had in store for her as a divorced, single mother of two, living on less than £90 a week social security when not acting. Julia started her company ‘Personal Presentation’ and in just three years, turned over her first £1 million.

Julia has been on the development board of Dyslexia Action for 17 years and has raised money for ovarian cancer through The Eve Appeal. She is on the board of BAWE (British Association of Women Entrepreneurs) has helped form major corporate companies’ ability to communicate such as KPMG and has continuously raised money, volunteered, and supported charities throughout her career but felt she could do more. Her business helps people find themselves through discovering their personal brand, their passions and to become the best versions of themselves and their ability to communicate and perform that. She is sure to have truth and transparency at the forefront of her business and wants to ensure that everyone feels able to talk about their own truth in a healthy and constructive way.

When asked about why she was keen to join IIC, Julia said “Anything that has a pragmatic realistic truthful and courageous element to it, I’m attracted to and I will bring whatever I can bring to it. IIC simply aligns with my feelings that if you don’t stand up and speak out and do things, then what are you doing?”

We are delighted to have Julia’s skillset and experience coming to IIC as we continue to grow our movement to unite purpose.

Sue Howorth, Founder and Co-Director of The Family Business Network has donned her hiking boots to take on the mighty ‘Wainwright Challenge’ to fundraise for the Lake District Calvert Trust.

 

The Lake District Calvert Trust deliver challenging outdoor adventure experiences for disabled adults and children. The charity was one of many that was forced to suspend their activities as the country went into lockdown early last year.

 

Sue described how she felt after having seen an article in the media about the impact of Covid on the charity and its visitors, saying, “Having worked in the outdoor industry for a time in my earlier career, I knew that Covid would have a huge knock-on effect for the sector.”

 

“When I heard the Lake District Calvert Trust talk about how badly their funding had been hit by the pandemic and how it was threatening their survival, it really affected me.  The centre delivers amazing experiences for disabled people and I knew I wanted to support them and give something back to their community.”

 

When deciding how to go about fundraising, Sue turned to her local environment for inspiration.  She says, “As a resident of Windermere, I’m no stranger to the Lakeland fells but I’d never challenged myself to climb the higher peaks. I always knew I would walk some of the Wainwrights and decided that this would be the perfect challenge.”

 

For Sue however, this challenge will be no walk in the park – not least because of the sheer number of fells involved. Alfred Wainwright documented 214 fells in his pictorial guides and Sue will be aiming to summit each and every one in just 12 months! Combined with this, Sue does have a fear of heights and coming down steep descents, so this adds to the enormity of the task ahead.

 

Having completed 29 Wainwrights so far, Sue says her toughest moment to date was descending Ill Bell, a part of the Kentmere Horseshoe. She explained, “We tackled the horseshoe and the winds were high, it was cold and I was losing my nerve. Luckily, my experienced walking companion coaxed me down and we carried on.”

 

Despite a delayed start due to Covid travel restrictions, Sue remains optimistic that she will complete her challenge by the end of the year and aims to reach her fundraising target of £3,500 for the Lake District Calvert Trust.

Jennifer Scott, Fundraising Manager at Calvert Lakes said, “What Sue is doing for Lake District Calvert Trust is amazing and we cannot thank her enough. It’s not just the fundraising but also how much awareness she is creating through all her social media activity with the photos and stories of each Wainwright she has walked.”

“At Lake District Calvert Trust we have been hit very hard. This has been the toughest 12 months in all our history. We are so reliant on fundraising and are hugely grateful to each and every person that helps us.”

“The pandemic has given people a taste of what it can be like for people living with disabilities and the loneliness that they can face every day of their lives. Now more so than ever, our work is vitally needed. Monies raised can help us to buy equipment, for example, £1000 would purchase 10 ghyll scrambling kits or a specialist profiling bed. As a centre we subsidise every stay by £30, so the monies Sue is looking to raise would help over 1000 people to come and stay overnight with us.”

Visitors to the Lake District Calvert Trust benefit in so many ways – it is so much more than a place to have fun in the outdoors – visitors also develop personal skills that they can apply in everyday life and that allow them to grow and flourish.

 

For anyone wishing to support Sue in her challenge, you can visit her fundraising page via the Investors in Community platform: https://app.investorsincommunity.org/charity/645/project/1451

 

One hundred percent of the donations raised will go to The Lake District Calvert Trust. The Investors in Community platform helps to connect organisations and individuals with charities and community groups to demonstrate that by working together, powerful and evidenced social impact can be created. The platform is a growing movement to facilitate the improvement of the lives of people and communities by recognising human social value.

 

To find out more about The Family Business Network, visit www.fambiznet.co.uk

To find out more about Investors in Community, visit www.investorsincommunity.org

To find out more about the Lake District Calvert Trust and their work, visit www.calvertlakes.org.uk