Earlier this year, Corporate Partnerships Officer, Lindsey Horton, was invited along to the offices of Bristol-based recruitment agency, Socially Responsible Recruitment (SR2).
SR2 had been supporting Jessie May for the last 18 months, and on the day handed over a cheque for an incredible £18,000! This brought their fundraising total to whopping £48,991, which just blew everyone at Jessie May away.
We recently sat down to speak with Managing Director, Chris Sheard, to find out what their motivation behind raising such a phenomenal amount for local charity was, and the positive impact it’s had on his team.
How did you first hear about Jessie May?
We first came across Jessie May via a Mum’s group on Facebook. When we’re looking for a charity to support we always turn to the team to find out which charities they would like us to support. Jessie May was suggested via the Facebook group, from someone’s recommendation. From there we reached out and Lindsey (Horton) hosted a Zoom presentation with myself and Caitlin, along with Jessie May nurse, Helen Williams. From there it was an easy decision who to choose.
How did you come up with the ‘SR2 concept’ and the idea of a % of profit to charitable causes?
I was reading a book called ‘People Over Profit’ by Dale Partridge on holiday and he runs a business called Sevenly in the US. They donate 7% of their profits from selling apparel with different charities logo’s on, and they switch the charity every 7 days. They are a hugely successful purpose driven business and that got me thinking; how can I translate that concept into an IT recruitment company? That’s how SR2 – Socially Responsible Recruitment was born.
Why do you feel it’s important to support local charities rather than national?
I read some crazy stat that over 90% of charity donations go to the top 3% of charities so it is all the national charities who have huge marketing spend and teams that everyone hears about that tend to get peoples money. That didn’t feel right to me as it’s the smaller local charities that need the money the most and are often the ones making the biggest and widest impact on our local community.
What benefits have you found supporting a local charity has had on your team?
It’s simply a lot easier to feel and see the impact your partnership is making on your local community. You feel like you are making a bigger difference.
How did the idea of the Bristol Technology Volunteers evolve?
I think it’s probably still evolving but fundamentally we knew the tech community we work within everyday is full of good people that have an appetite to want to give back. We also knew the smaller charities we have worked with could benefit from some improvements in technology so it got us thinking, how can we create a platform to match up charities who need tech projects completed with techies that have the skills and are willing to do some pro-bono work and want to help. That’s where it started.
What would you say to other Corporates considering choosing Jessie May as their Charity of the Year for 2022 and beyond?
Do it. They are an unbelievable charity that provides much needed care and support to children and families when they need it the most. The work they do is incredible, you only have to read some of the case studies on the website to see that. We have loved every minute of our partnership with Jessie May and I would definitely urge other businesses to look at them and partner with them.
If you’re a business looking to partner with a local charity, then please visit our website to learn more about the options we have for you to make a real difference this year: www.jessiemay.org.uk/support-us/businesses/
Alternatively, you can get in touch with our Corporate Partnerships Officer, Lindsey Horton, via email lindsey.horton@jessiemay.org.uk or on 0117 9582174.