Julianne Ponan is the founder of Creative Nature, a London company that creates truly healthy snacks that are especially popular with individuals with serious allergies or health conditions. Julianne is also proud to be an ambassador for the charity Jessie May, a Bristol-based service who provides palliative care for terminally ill children.
Julianne believes charitable giving is a very important element for an entrepreneur to consider. Involving yourself with a charity not only does good for the community, but also has major benefits to your own work, as well as on the wellbeing and motivation of your team.
As soon as Julianne saw the incredible work of the Jessie May nurses, she was desperate to help in any way she could.
“It is vital that you choose a charity that genuinely means the world to you. I fell in love with the work done at Jessie May. Seeing the impact it has on not only the children, but also the whole family, touched my heart. I just knew that I had to get involved.”
But why is it so important as a business owner to be involved with a charity? Julianne knows that supporting Jessie May gives her company a sense of purpose and helps build trust and reputation.
Supporting a charity positively impacts your whole company and your employees, giving them a sense of purpose. They will adopt the same sense of social responsibility you inhabit, plus volunteering and supporting charity has been proven to support positive mental health and wellbeing. Studies have shown that giving is beneficial for combating stress, depression and anxiety, and also helps keep you mentally stimulated, improves your self-confidence and provides you with a sense of purpose.
Being involved with a charity means you, and the charity involved, can share the spotlight in any local and national media coverage obtained through the partnership. Good press creates trust, and a build a good reputation for yourself in the business world, while also helping the charity to spread their message and raise vital funds. It also has positive implications for a business financially, as 70% of people reported that they’d spend more on brands that are involved in charity work.
Lindsey Horton, Corporate Partnerships Officer at Jessie May, is thrilled with the support received from Julianne and Creative Nature,
“Corporate partners and ambassadors, such as Julianne, are vital for Jessie May. The partnership enables us to spread the word about our work to a new audience and means we can ultimately support more families.”
