Being in the right place at the right time
News article from December 5, 2019
One of the many benefits of our partnerships with businesses is being able to draw on their pool of talent to help the children and families we support.
Provident Financial Group (PFG) fund important projects in Bradford and Kent. Without this, it would be incredibly difficult for us to reach vulnerable children and young people in those locations. The PFG and SHS partnership helps ensure vulnerable young people do not lose out on education because of disadvantage at home.
PFG has made a very real difference to the lives of vulnerable children. We’ve seen improvements in school attendance, in behaviour, and in children more engaged with their learning. Achieving and sustaining this improvement involves working with the whole family. Our approach is to support parents and break down barriers to learning such as poverty, poor housing, domestic violence and other complex issues.
Contributing to our “whole family” approach, volunteers from Vanquis got involved in an Employment Skills Workshop for parents last week. Three Vanquis employees worked with frontline SHS staff in a local primary school, specifically helping a small group of parents with their CVs and interview skills. These are really important interventions that we don’t have the resources to deliver – it can only happen with PFG staff engagement. Helping parents get closer to employment is hugely beneficial so we, and most importantly our parents, were delighted with the outcome.
“Emma was super lovely and helpful, both being emotionally supportive as I had just got turned down for a job, and practically very helpful restructuring my CV.” Mum
“I really enjoyed the morning, just wanted to say a big thank you for all the help with my CV and helping me put everything I needed to on there, thank you it was a big help.” Mum
It was a timely intervention last week, as one of the parents who came along to the workshop had just been rejected for a job. PFG volunteers quickly got to work and paired up with parents helping them develop their CV, making it fit for purpose. Parents very much appreciated the opportunity to work with someone in business, getting advice and support. The activity resulted in a real boost to their confidence and self-esteem. We’re really looking forward to doing more of this with colleagues in Chatham and Bradford. The positive impact on parents is significant and it’s a great opportunity for employees to use their skills and give back.
“I really enjoyed the time and found Wendy genuinely inspiring. Spending a couple of hours working through her CV, learning about her professional experiences and interests outside that was a real pleasure. I hope I was able to help in some small part. I’d love to do another event in the future.” Evan Williams, Vanquis
“I enjoyed the experience and it was great to be able to help and the one to one approach really worked well and I hope the ladies we met benefited from the morning.” Vikki Palmer. Vanquis
A big thanks to Vikki Palmer, Emma Masters and Evan Williams for volunteering on the day.