We are a small local charity that brings together the business community and voluntary sector to make life better for Croydon residents (of any age) and the environment. We primarily work around the themes of employability, education, social inclusion and the environment. We develop programmes, projects, activities and events that are facilitated by us but are delivered by our business partners' employee volunteers.
Our primary focus is on delivering our Ways2Work programme - a series of workshops and events that are available free to primary and secondary schools, colleges and those statutory and voluntary organisations working with hard to reach and disadvantaged groups.
We also organise environmental team challenges - groups of volunteers who paint decorate, fix, tidy clean, renovate etc at any local voluntary organisation from a children's centre to an Ecology charity.
Our Veterans' Lunch is our flagship social inclusion event where we host over 100 Armed Forces veterans for a 3 course lunch in the Braithwaite Halls, Croydon. We have also been involved with intergenerational events, phone befriending and supporting refugee groups.
Over the last 20 years, and with the support and generosity of the many resources of our Business partners we have helped hundreds of local organisations and thousands of Croydon residents.
The aim of our Ways2Work programme is to engage, encourage and inspire young people to think about the world of work and the opportunities open to them in Croydon and beyond. From our Primary Professions workshops (What's My Job, Maths Challenge, STEM - building bridges and Run a Business) to our Confidence and Employability Workshops for older students we hope that informal access to 'business people' will raise their aspirations and show them what is possible. We also offer Mock Interviews and CV workshops, a CV repair service, networking opportunities, career talks, insight sessions and bespoke business / participant engagement.
We are hoping to build on our sustainability programme by offering businesses and the community easy and meaningful ways of helping and improving the environment - both built and natural.
We will also be improving our Veterans engagement - by offering funding and venues for veterans to meet more regularly. This, in itself, may move towards veteran volunteering, passing on skills and advice to local people and recycling workshops.
Our new career mentors programme is just about to go live. We have 20 business employee volunteers who are now trained and ready to support 20 young people with their careers.
