Tag: BaxterStorey

Social Bite launches Jobs First initiative with UK’s largest employers

New UK-wide programme launched to help people experiencing homelessness into employment

Social Bite has launched a pioneering initiative to help revolutionise the access people who have experienced homelessness have to job opportunities across the UK.

Through its new Jobs First programme, Social Bite will work directly with some of the UK’s biggest employers to help breakdown the barriers people who have been homeless face on their route to employment

To date, businesses including BaxterStorey, Mitchells & Butlers, Andron FM, have signed up with a plan to help create a target of 60 employment opportunities for people experiencing homelessness. The program is being part funded through a grant from the Oak Foundation.

The initiative, which guarantees living wage employment for each person, will provide wrap around support for both the employer and employee.

Each Jobs First employee will be allocated a support worker from Social Bite who will assist them throughout the programme and their employment contract, meeting weekly to offer practical support on bills and forms, as well as emotional guidance and confidence building to adapt to working life.

Social Bite will provide training to each employer to help them appropriately guide the employee while the support worker will help facilitate appraisal processes and employee progress.

As measures put in place in response to COVID-19 are wound down, it is feared that more people will experience homelessness with latest statistics released by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) showing that many of these measures helped to reduce and prevent homelessness.

Data in London shows that between April and June this year, the number of people sleeping on the streets increased by 25 per cent, making Social Bite’s Jobs First initiative even more timely. Firms across the UK are also sounding the alarm over staff shortages, with Britain’s worst labour shortage in decades putting economic recovery from lockdown at risk.

George Watson kickstarted the programme today, taking on his role with hospitality provider BaxterStorey who supply Royal Bank’s Gogarburn headquarters in Edinburgh where Social Bite recently opened a café.

Josh Littlejohn MBE, CEO and Co-Founder of Social Bite, said: “Social Bite started life nine years ago by offering jobs in a small café to people who had experienced homelessness and over that time we have seen the power of employment to change lives.

“Too often, the response to people experiencing homelessness is to ‘get a job’ – however, it’s not that easy. Proactive employers stepping out of their comfort zone to provide chances for those who would otherwise be excluded and a wraparound support alongside the job are the solutions.

“That’s why the Jobs First programme is so important. We will match people who are excluded from the jobs market with some of the UK’s largest employers.

“The wrap around support we will provide will help both employers and employees enjoy a fruitful working partnership. At a time when the UK is facing a serious labour shortage, we are incredibly proud to be partnering with major employers to deliver a program of scale throughout the UK that can act as a blueprint for how we can provide employment opportunities for homeless and marginalised people.”

Over the past four years, Social Bite has supported 34 people into employment from a background of homelessness and in total, one quarter of its workforce has experienced homelessness.

Of the 34, many have moved into employment roles with other companies, some into higher education and in many cases, they have developed careers within Social Bite. These learnings have formed the basis for rolling out Jobs First across the UK.

Operations Manager, Caroline Bacigalupo at BaxterStorey, said: “Jobs First is a fantastic programme and we’re proud to be working with Social Bite to offer training and employment opportunities to people who were previously homeless.

“We’re all thrilled to welcome George on board and can’t wait to support other Jobs First employees reach their full potential as the programme develops.”

George Watson said: “Social Bite has been like my family for the past seven years. I am really excited to start my job role with BaxterStorey. I am grateful for the Jobs First programme and hope it will help many others into employment.”

Businesses unite to spread Christmas cheer to thousands through shoebox appeal

·        Royal Bank of Scotland’s Winter Sparkle festive campaign aims to bring cheer to 10,000 people and families this Christmas

·        Bank’s charity partner BaxterStorey is distributing 100,000 meals to the country’s most vulnerable as part of the drive

·        Businesses and organisations including The Scottish Book Trust, Tesco and Amazon back the drive

·        Social Bite, Cyrenians, The Felix Project and Edinburgh Food Project help take the programme to Scotland’s neediest communities

Royal Bank of Scotland has partnered with hospitality provider BaxterStorey and security company G4S, to distribute more than 10,000 shoeboxes full of toys, books, games, food and items of clothing for vulnerable people and families across Scotland, as part of the bank’s Winter Sparkle initiative.

The shoeboxes – which have been packed in a socially distant setting at the bank’s Gogarburn HQ in Edinburgh – are being given to charity partners Social Bite, Cyrenians, The Felix Project and Edinburgh Food Project, to distribute amongst thousands of individuals and families they support across the country.

Catering company BaxterStorey will also prepare and deliver an additional 100,000 cooked meals for vulnerable families in Scotland, thanks to generous donations of fresh produce from a number of the Royal Bank’s agricultural customers. 

Other supporters of the project include the Scottish Book Trust, Tesco and Business in the Community, while employees and customers of the bank have been able to purchase items via a bespoke Amazon wish list.

The shoebox initiative is the latest project from the team behind the foodbank distribution centre at Gogarburn. It was set up in March by bank employee, Sheena Hales, in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, to offer charities a space to store large food deliveries. In October, Sheena was awarded a British Empire Medal in recognition of her efforts.

Since opening, the foodbank centre has distributed around 6,000 meals per week, taken in huge donations including 220,000 items of new clothing, and welcomed truckloads of potatoes and carrots – all to be issued by charities to those in need.

Along with donations of food and clothing, the foodbank has also helped furnish a homeless shelter in Glasgow and through a partnership with the Scottish Book Trust, has provided families with learning packs, storybooks and even tablets and Wi-Fi access to support with remote learning.

Sheena Hales, Programme Capability Manager at Royal Bank of Scotland and Manager of the Gogarburn distribution centre, said: “Christmas can always be a challenging time but the events and added pressures of 2020 have undoubtedly created extra stress and anxiety for many families.

“The foodbank has been committed to supporting those in need since the onset of the pandemic and while the food parcels will be essential, it’s also our hope that the little extra treats in the boxes will put a few smiles on faces this festive season.

“Crucially, this has been a team effort and none of it would be possible without the hard work and dedication of our volunteers or the generosity of our staff, customers and strategic partners who have worked tirelessly to make the foodbank what it is”

Caroline Bacigalupo, Operations Manager at BaxterStorey, said: “We are delighted to have been working with local community councils and local charities, supplying a variety of sweet treats and hearty meals.

“This Christmas, we plan to fill over 10,000 boxes for Christmas gifts and food packages to help those in need across Edinburgh and the Lothians. 

“With the ongoing support of our team at BaxterStorey, G4S and of course Royal Bank of Scotland, we will be out delivering the packages in the run-up to Christmas.”

Malcolm Buchanan, Chair, Scotland Board, Royal Bank of Scotland said: “The work that our foodbank team has delivered throughout 2020 has been truly admirable and the results achieved reflect the unwavering commitment of our staff, customers and partners, who have all gone above and beyond to support those in their local communities.

“Under Sheena’s leadership, the team have been working behind the scenes to coordinate, manage and store huge deliveries and have all been busy packing up the shoeboxes ready for distribution. Our charity partners will then take the wheel, allocating the boxes to the incredibly deserving individuals and families within their support networks.”