Last week, the Echo-U team headed down to the Port of Middlesbrough for Thirteen Group’s Match My Project Business Engagement Event, and what a turnout! It was brilliant to see so many local businesses and charities from across the North East in one room, and to hear about the great work they have been doing.
Match My Project connects businesses with community organisations that need support, whether that’s time, skills, resources or funding. It was great to see awards handed out to the organisations that have gone above and beyond in delivering social value through the platform, and it really got us thinking about what social value means to us here on the Quayside.
What Social Value Looks Like at Echo-U in the North East
For our team, it starts close to home. We volunteer at St Vincent’s food bank in Byker every week for most of the year, we’ve made donations to the food bank, and we funded a coach to take refugee children supported by St Vincent’s on a day trip to the coast. Every year we also collect clothes from the team for Smart Works, the charity that helps women into work, which you can read more about here.
We also know how important that first step into work can be. Our MD and HR Manager visit local schools to talk to Year 11 students about careers in customer service, we welcome secondary school groups for tours of our contact centre, and for the last three years two local secondary schools have placed pupils with us for a week’s work experience. Our HR team also offers free mock interviews to local jobseekers, both face to face and over Teams, so they can walk into their next interview feeling confident.
And wherever we can, we spend with North East suppliers, keeping that money working in our region.
It Starts at the Top
Our Managing Director, Diana, has been volunteering for over 25 years, from supporting looked-after children with Action for Children to mentoring young people with The King’s Trust, and now with St Vincent’s in Byker. You can read Diana’s story here.
Back Up the A19
After Middlesbrough, it was back up the A19 to finish the week at the NE Expo in Gosforth, where it was great to catch up with familiar faces and meet so many fantastic local businesses.
A huge thank you to Thirteen Group for hosting Match My Project, and to everyone who made both events such a success. We’ll definitely be back!
Let’s Connect
If we didn’t get the chance to connect at either event, or you’re working on a community project and think we could help, get in touch. We’d love to chat! Drop us a line at info@echo-u.co.uk.
