! Croydon Commitment Impact Report 2019 Our full report on the impact we had, in partnership with our Business Partners and supporters, in Croydon and on the local community in 2019 ! Prepared by: Croydon Commitment # Document Name: CCImpact2019 ! # Impact Report 2019 !1 ! CROYDON COMMITMENT 2019 HIGHLIGHTS In 2019, our business partners contributed over 4,000 volunteering hours under our five pillars: Education, Employment, Environment, Social Inclusion, and Health & Well-being 58 activities engaging 54 students had mock with the elderly interviews to prepare them population and veterans for the employment process 124 Croydon residents booked onto our Business Open Door Month events 1,571 hours of thought leadership 500 hampers packed and delivered to the most elderly, isolated residents of Croydon 134 acres of parks, woodland, 32 Lunchtime Literacy allotments and outdoor activity sessions delivered for centre were covered through primary school our Sustainability Team students Challenges Over 150kg of ! toilet#ries collected for ! # Impact Report 2019 individuals living in !2 hygiene poverty ! Contents Patron’s Letter 4 Who we are 5 What we do 5 Chair’s Letter 6 Our Programme 7 Education 8 Employment 10 Environment 11 Social Inclusion 12 Health and Wellbeing 14 Grassroots Awards 15 15th Anniversary 16 Fundraising 17 Our Business Partners 19 Message from CEO 20 Thank You to Our Supporters 21 In-Kind Support 22 Organisations we have supported in 2019 23 Our Board and Team 24 ! # ! # Impact Report 2019 !3 ! Patron’s Letter ! # ! # Impact Report 2019 !4 ! Who we are Croydon Commitment is a well-established charity, founded in 2004 to help Croydon businesses achieve the best value and impact from business Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities to benefit local people and the environment. We work with businesses to enhance the quality and value of their community investment through planned programmes of employee engagement, partnerships and community activity to meet local need, boost CSR achievement and capitalise on the opportunities of a changing borough. What we do Croydon Commitment was established to: • Broker strong and sustainable relationships across Croydon through a programme of focused community activity that complements and enhances borough-wide activity • Involve businesses in activities that promote social inclusion through raising aspiration and educational attainment opportunities, helping local people to access employment opportunities from Croydon’s development and regeneration and in programmes that promote health, wellbeing and environmental improvements in the borough • Help businesses develop and implement strong and sustainable local community investment plans, complementing an authentic CSR approach and ensuring that the benefits of Croydon’s regeneration and growth reach local people • Provide on-going learning and improvement in community investment and CSR best practice • Inspire employees and other stakeholders to engage with a community investment programmes • Communicate the positive impact of these activities in Croydon and across media channels ! # ! # Impact Report 2019 !5 ! Chair’s Letter As Chair of Croydon Commitment, I have seen first-hand the impact that the charity has on our local community. If you have worked in Croydon as long as I have you will remember the series of fundraising events driven by Janine and the Croydon Commitment Board. Over a four year period from 2008-2011 over £400,000 was raised in part to set up the Endowment Fund which allocates grants to grassroots organisations in Croydon. The legacy of this fund continues to make a real impact in the community. Last year, 14 community groups and charities working at a real grassroots level - often without paid staff - received both financial and in-kind support. Croydon Commitment 15th Birthday party celebrated Croydon Commitment's achievements but also demonstrated the real impact and legacy the charity has had by the volume of community groups and charities who attended. There would not be a Croydon Commitment without the support of Croydon businesses. White Label, the company I run, celebrates its 10th birthday in 2020. As a business, we have taken this opportunity to reflect on what we have achieved over the last 10 years and our own impact on the Croydon community. As part of our own business operations, we are ensuring that every one of our employees is gifted 10 hours to spend on CSR work in Croydon. As a business we are committed to giving back to the Croydon community, I would encourage any business to ensure Corporate Social Responsibility is at the heart of their business operations. Recruitment and Retention of staff is a priority for any business big or small. The fact that 64% of millennials won't take a job at a company that doesn't have strong social responsibility practices, combined with the fact that by 2025 millennials will make up 3/4 of the workplace, means that having a CSR strategy is essential to any business. If you are a business in Croydon and would like to find out more about Corporate Social Responsibility please get in touch with team and come to one of our business breakfasts. Katharine Glass Chair of Trustees ! # ! # Impact Report 2019 !6 ! Our Programme Our Corporate Social Responsibility programme has been developed to offer a range of different ways for businesses to make a tangible difference in the local community, and to address the issues of deprivation and inequality in Croydon. The programme addresses five key areas of need in the borough, which form our five pillars; Education, Employment, Environment, Social Inclusion, and Health & Wellbeing. These five pillars our aligned to the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals. We delivered a wide range of projects under each pillar in 2019: Education: Lunchtime Literacy, Mock Interviews, STEM Workshops, Confidence and Employability Workshops Employment: Business Open Door Month Environment: Sustainability Team Challenges Social Inclusion: Veterans’ Remembrance Tea, Inter-generational Events, Croydon Christmas Appeal Health & Wellbeing: HIV and AIDS Awareness Workshop, Self Care and Mental Health at Work Seminar ! # ! # Impact Report 2019 !7 ! Education SDGs targeted: 4, 10, 11 Lunchtime Literacy Lunchtime Literacy is aimed at improving children’s reading skills. Volunteers give up a lunchtime a week to visit a local school, and hear the children read and discuss a book. Employee volunteers are asked to commit to the programme for at least two terms so that the child they are paired with has a constant reading partner. Case Study: Mott MacDonald Mott MacDonald employees have been participating in the Lunchtime Literacy programme at Elmwood School since February 2018. The sessions restarted in January 2019, with 20 volunteers committing to reading with students every week, giving a total of 244 hours. Lead volunteers Bryan Applegath and Kerry Meah also provided support in coordinating their colleagues each week, ensuring their were enough volunteers for each session. Confidence and Employability Workshops Confidence and Employability workshops are run in partnership with employee volunteers and deliver a session that aims to instil confidence in young people and raise their aspirations. Additionally, students will gain an understanding of the qualities and skills needed for the workplace and benefit from first hand interactions with business people from a wide variety of occupations. Case Study: Waitrose In October, Croydon Commitment hosted a Confidence and Employability workshop for residents of the Caridon Foundation. Volunteers, including Waitrose’s Stuart Guthrie, helped facilitate the workshop, giving advice and interview tips to the residents, to help them gain a better understanding of the employment process. STEM Workshops Given the inequality in numbers between men and women in STEM roles, efforts are now being made to redress this imbalance. Workshops can combat stereotypes about what it means to work in Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics roles. ! # ! # Impact Report 2019 !8 ! Case Study: Croydon Partnership In April, employee volunteers from Croydon Partnership hosted a group of female students from St Mary’s High School for a STEM workshop. The day included a number of activities designed to inspire students about STEM careers, as well as learn about the roles that exist within retail management. Students were also given a tour of the shopping centre and management suite. Mock Interviews As part of Croydon Commitment’s Education programme, we organise Mock Interview Days at local secondary schools, to help build students’ confidence and give an insight into the employment process. Interview experience is invaluable to young people as many students go into their first interviews with little idea of what to expect and without the chance to practice beforehand. By helping these young people, employees make a real difference to their chances of success and a positive impact on their futures. Case Study: Mott MacDonald In February, four volunteers from Mott MacDonald went to Archbishop Tenison’s C of E School for a Mock Interview Day. They interviewed Year 10 and 11 students, giving them immediate feedback, including suggestions on how to improve their interview skills and CV writing tips. The feedback from the students was fantastic, with many of them recounting how helpful they found their mock interviews, and how friendly and reassuring the interviewers had been. Feedback from students: “It was very helpful. I’ve learnt