Smarter Giving Update

Once again, our business members and their employees have been doing amazing work to support local charities, community groups and schools as part of our Smarter Giving initiative.  Here is a round-up of some of the the amazing corporate giving and volunteering that members have achieved recently… 

Donations 

A big thank you to the following businesses for donating items and funds to support the work of local charities: 

• Madame Tussauds donated hats and scarves and Pimco donated pairs of new boots to the Marylebone Project. The Zetter, Energean, Marcol and Derwent London also donated kitchen items for ‘Move in Packs’ for women arriving at the centre. Streathers provided a meeting room for Marylebone Project’s staff away day.  
• Pandora donated ex-display decorative cubes for the community café at Feathers Youth Club. 
• Energean donated digital business books to King Solomon Academy. 
• Our Smarter Recycling partner, First Mile, donated five laptops to St Marylebone CE School. 
• The Portman Estate donated a microwave to Home-start Westminster. 
• Aramco donated table tennis table to St Edwards Primary school. 
• Brevan Howard donated a dinner set to Greenhouse Sports. 
• Our clothes drive in March saw nine businesses taking part and collecting over 30 bags of clothing which was donated to three local charities! 

Skill-Sharing  

Several people from local businesses have donated their time to sharing skills and expertise with a range of local community groups and schools: 

• A member of the HR team from Energean has been supporting Home-start Westminster to look at staff contracts. 
• An employee from Cromwell Properties offered their photography skills to update staff headshots at the Marylebone Project. 
• A staff member from BDO carried out a one to one session with a young person from a local secondary school interested in a career in finance and accountancy.  

Volunteering 

And finally, teams of volunteers from our member businesses have been busy donating time to support the community and those in need: 

• A team from BDO repainted doors at the Marylebone Project’s centre. 
• Employees at HSBC volunteered their time at St John’s Hospice Easter fundraising event. 
• A team from Colliers went litter picking in Church Street. 
• A team from Knight Frank and Hyatt cleared areas of Feathers youth club and re-planted herbs, veg, fruit and plants in their roof garden.  
• Employees from The Portman Estate attended and took part in King Solomon Academy’s careers’ week. 
• Nobu Hotel London Portman Square invited a group of year 3 and 4 students from a local primary school to the hotel for a tour and a talk about hospitality. 
• UST Global invited a group of year 4,5 and 6 students from a local primary school to their office and held insight session with lunch.  

Our Smarter Giving initiative continues to go from strength to strength, with more of our members getting involved in a variety of activities to support vulnerable individuals and families in the area. More information, including how you can get involved is available here, or get in touch with our Community Impact Manager Hannah here.