We set up the ONE17 Charitable Trust to help us become more aware of our wider community, to play an active role in providing relief to those in need and to help inspire and enthuse young people. Although we’ve given over £250,000 to projects since 2010, we don’t just give financial support.
We particularly like to support keen and enthusiastic volunteers within our community and make sure that their energies can be spent with the people they are supporting, rather than on filling in forms. We’ve also found that many smaller groups lack the necessary time or expertise to bid for funding from larger charities and it’s this gap that we’re helping to bridge in our local community.
Instead of an application form I go out and meet people, establish what is needed and see how ONE17 might be able to help. It’s the conversations I’ve had and the amazing people I’ve met over the years that have really shaped the work of our Charitable Trust.
Finding out what’s happening in our local community and how we can support the work of smaller organisations and individuals to make a difference is important to us. It’s uplifting to go out, meet people and see what they’re about. It’s good to get to know people, rather than having to rely on an application form.
Here are just a few of the organisations that we are involved with on a regular basis to give an idea of our work:
We have supported Streetbikes in Kirklees since 2013 when we produced some free flyers for their mixed ability Cycling and Bike Mechanics session, and bought them some helmets. They’re a charity that gives people of all ages and abilities access to cycling. They help those with autism, learning difficulties, dyspraxia and run sessions for children with Down’s Syndrome.
We gave Worth Unlimited’s youth club a pool table, and supported their kids’ cooking club. Seeing how they were supporting their local community meant it was easier for us to offer further support when funding for youth services was cut.
We also supported the Mrs Sunderland Festival Children’s Workshops. The festival needed to charge schools for running the workshops, but after seeing a presentation about their work and having a discussion with our trust members, we decided to fund the workshops to make it easier for schools to participate.
Not everyone is lucky in life. Having an opportunity to do something about that, no matter how small, is one of the great privileges of running a business.
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Thank you to Caroline for sharing this story after participating in one of our “How can more people come together to make local places better?” online workshops for Kirklees citizens.
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