Smarter Giving Highlights

There has been lots going on across the area as part of our Smarter Giving programme, partnering businesses with some of the incredible charities and local schools. Here is a round-up of all the recent highlights: 

Education/Employment 

*More than 100 hours of career related talks/workshops delivered to local young people* 

After a successful trial, a young person from Greenhouse Sports community, started a chef apprenticeship working alongside the chefs at private members club Home House on Portman Square. Hannah Payne, HR Manager at Home House said, 

Lucas’s journey from Greenhouse Sports to Chef Apprentice is a fantastic example of how Smarter Giving supports local talent. After impressing Head Chef (Josh Dixon) and Senior Sous (Riccardo D’Alessandro) during a busy Christmas trial, Lucas began his part-time Apprenticeship in February, balancing work and college with dedication and passion.  

Home House also hosted a Career insight session for a small group of individuals from Westminster Adult Education Service (WAES) The session included a tour of Home House, hearing from several members of the team who shared their career journey and spoke about the varied roles within hospitality and the process of applying to their vacant roles. 

Energean participated in a mock interview workshop with year 10 students at Marylebone Boys School in preparation for their work experience week in March and Duke Street Property held a career insight session with Year 9 students at King Solomon Academy, involving an introduction to property industry and the different roles within their team followed by an interactive mini project. Both companies also took part in King Solomon Academy’s career week with ‘career carousel’ and ‘Speed Networking’ sessions. 

HSBC presented at Marylebone Boys School parent coffee morning on financial education for students and parents. Victoria from Marcol delivered an inspirational talk at one of the school’s assemblies.  

Colliers Marketing team hosted a marketing workshop for group of year 10 students at St Marylebone CE School linking into its Business Studies curriculum. And, The Portman Estate is providing mentoring support to a Real Estate graduate from University of Westminster. 

Volunteering 

*More than 100 hours of volunteering* 

HSBC delivered a financial education session for women at the Mosaic Community Trust and Hyatt Regency London- The Churchill delivered a CV-writing and interview skills workshop for parents at Newpin pre-school and nursery.    

Energean carried out weeding, planting and fixing the greenhouse in the community garden at Penfold Community Hub. 

Sixth Form students from Wetherby Senior School have been delivering a weekly chess club at a local primary school.  

Forsters held a Brunch and craft activity day for the women at the Marylebone Project to celebrate International Women’s Day and also raised funds by participating in the London Night Walk. 

Donations 

Aspect Capital donated children’s toys to HomeStart Westminster and the Church Street Eid celebration. Attestor Capital and Colliers delivered Easter eggs to St John’s Hospice for their patients and their families, and Colliers also donated to Newpin pre-school and nursery.  

Marcol provided table tennis tables to St Marylebone CE School PE department and Nobu London Portman Square donated books to Newpin elderly drop-in centre. 

Brevan Howard donated boxes of sandwiches to the Marylebone Project, and kitchen equipment to HomeStart Westminster. They also gave some Monstera plants to two local primary schools.  

Colliers provided pro-bono support to a local charity regarding a business rates enquiry.  

Clothes collection drive 

A big thank you to all the businesses that took part in our Clothes Collection Drive – Aspect Capital, FireFly Capital, Hyatt Regency London – The Churchill, Invesco, PureGym, Energean, HSBC, Nobu London Portman Square, Topland, and the businesses at 10 Portman Square. Over 60 bags of clothing were donated to homeless charities, the Marylebone Project and The Passage.  

Our Smarter Giving initiative connects local businesses with grass-roots charities, community groups and nearby schools to deliver a programme of activity, from volunteering and fundraising, to education and career support. You can find out more about the programme here or get in touch with Hannah to be added to the mailing list for email updates of forthcoming opportunities.   

Meet the Charity Event

Our first ‘Meet the Charity’ event took place on 4 Feb, inviting charity representatives to promote their activities to local businesses and encourage partnership building. Eight charities and 16 different businesses attended with several establishing plans to work together in future.  

Social Impact Reporting 

Business members of Baker Street Quarter Partnership can use facts and statistics from our Smarter Giving programme for their own community impact and ESG reporting and targets.  

We will shortly be publishing our Social Impact Report for 24/25 – if you would be interested in receiving a copy, get in touch with our Community Impact Manager Hannah here.