In March, the world changed so much within such a short space of time. I was on paternity leave when the lockdown hit, and after only a few days back at work, I was furloughed.
I returned to our Hospice in June. It’s been incredibly strange being away for so long. After over three months at home with my family, I’m now back in my role as Corporate Partnerships Manager, to lead the Corporate Fundraising team. We work with businesses, both big and small, looking to engage them with our Hospice and support them in their fundraising for our patients and their care.
Some of our supporters range from huge, household names such as West Ham United FC, to businesses on the high street and everything in between. Companies help us in many different ways; it’s not always about the cash they can give. Support can come through volunteering or providing services at a reduced cost.
Being socially responsible is so important, maybe now more so than ever, to customers as well as employees. Working with a charity like ours really demonstrates a company’s commitment to its community.
If there’s one positive thing to come out of the pandemic, it’s the community spirit of everyone coming together. Companies are very aware of the funding challenges we’re facing, as a result of the outbreak of COVID-19. Yet, they’ve still wanted to support us, despite uncertainty within their businesses. The kindness we’ve received from organisations within our community has been overwhelming.
Adapting to a ‘new normal’ is something that we’re all going to have to work together on. We’re keen to work with other local businesses to see how we can support each other with this. We’d love to hear from any companies that would like to get involved and do something incredible for local people. Together, we can work to come up with mutually beneficial ways to engage your staff and customers.
If you’d like to find out more about how you and your colleagues can make a difference, while having lots of team-building fun along the way, then we’d love to hear from you at corporatefundraising@sfh.org.uk
