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WBD has announced its new charity partners to support the firm's social inclusion and 3Es responsible business strategy to drive Education, Employment and Entrepreneurship across the UK.

The new charities all have a focus on social inclusion and supporting youth and work towards tackling mental health issues and food poverty in the community. The firm will be supporting all 20 charities through fundraising, volunteering, raising awareness and pro-bono legal advice.

Sally Dallow, partner and head of WBD's Charitable Incorporated Trust, comments: 

"Developing and nurturing long lasting relationships is core to our philosophy. When it comes to our responsible business strategy, this translates into true collaboration and partnership working to achieve maximum social impact.

"We're thrilled to be working with all our new charity partners, to raise awareness of the inspiring work they do for our communities, and to support them through high-impact fundraising, volunteering and mentoring initiatives. Our new partners fit in perfectly with what our responsible business objectives hope to achieve in the areas of the 3Es: Education, Employment and Entrepreneurship as well as social inclusion. We look forward to working with them to make systemic and sustainable change in our communities.

"Hunger in the community continues to be a big issue across the UK and has wider negative impacts in relation to employability and education for young people. The problem has only been exacerbated by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and so it was very important for us to join forces with our local foodbanks and work together to tackle the very real problem that is food poverty in this country."

WBD is already heavily involved in a strong responsible business programme across the UK supporting charities, community projects and local initiatives. Last year the firm joined the COVID-19 emergency response and pledged thousands of pounds to support a number of charities across the region and also worked with local schools to bridge the digital divide, donating a large number of laptops to support those pupils home-schooling who have no access to technology.

In an effort to tackle food poverty throughout the pandemic and ensuing lockdowns, the firm also donated £30,000 to foodbanks and other food charities across the UK.

WBD's new charity partners include:

Bristol:

16-25 Independent People is a youth charity working in the community to prevent homelessness, keep young people safe and empower them to become their best self. The charity runs a range of specialist projects and services relating to housing, education and mentoring across Bristol.

One25 is a women’s charity helping vulnerable and marginalised women in Bristol and supporting them to move from crisis and trauma towards independence and safety.

FareShare South West is part of the UK’s largest food charity, FareShare, working to tackle food poverty, hunger and food waste in the community.

Edinburgh:

Simpsons Special Care Babies supports the specialist care that the Simpson Neonatal Unit provides to babies born prematurely or sick, both within Edinburgh and throughout the country. The entirely voluntary run charity raises funds to provide state of the art equipment, advanced staff training, ground breaking research in the field of neonatology, and support and advice to the staff and families in the Neonatal Unit.

Fresh Start is a charity helping people who have been homeless get established in their new home. Working in partnership with volunteers and organisations from a broad section of the community, it delivers a range of services including practical and social support from starter packs, training courses and cooking classes to help thousands of new tenants settle successfully.

The Edinburgh Food Project provides food supplies and support to people in the community. Through its centres, the charity offers emergency food as well as money advice and mental health and wellbeing support to help address the underlying causes of food poverty.

Leeds:

Leeds Mind is an independent charity affiliated with National Mind and the Mind federation, delivering vital services to support people in the Yorkshire and the Humber areas that are suffering from mental health problems.

The Leeds North and West Foodbank provides food parcels containing 3 days' worth of nutritionally balanced emergency food to local people who are referred to them in crisis.

London:

Power 2 is leading youth development charity working to unleash the power of children and young people to improve their lives and the lives of others through mutually beneficial relationships. The charity runs programmes that are designed to develop crucial life skills, improve confidence and boost self-esteem through mentoring and positive psychology.

Southwark Giving is a placed-based giving scheme which is being set up to find new ways to address hidden, unmet and emerging local community needs. It enables anyone to give time, skills and/ or money in collaboration with others to help make a difference to people’s lives.

Southwark Foodbank is a local foodbank supporting the local community. It is part of a nationwide network of foodbanks, supported by The Trussell Trust, to combat poverty and hunger across the UK.

Newcastle:

Anxious Minds provides support to people suffering from mental health across the North East including counselling and support to children, veterans and the wider community.

Smile of Life is a youth charity working to support disabled and disadvantaged young people in the community and empowering them to achieve their full potential and live a full and happy life. 

The Newcastle West End Foodbank offers emergency food assistance to people in the west end of Newcastle, which is one of the most economically and socially deprived areas in the North East.

Plymouth:

Jeremiah's Journey provides bereavement support to children in the Plymouth area who have experienced or are facing the loss of a close relative.

Our Plymouth aims to improve citizen and community engagement across the city and has a single digital platform that is used as a powerful tool to connect, communicate, collaborate, inspire and recognise citizen and community action.

The Plymouth Foodbank, also part of The Trussell Trust’s network of 428 foodbanks across the UK, works to tackle food poverty and hunger in the local community.

Southampton:

Solent Mind is Hampshire's leading mental health charity providing support, advice and information to anyone experiencing mental health issues in the community. 

Solent Youth Action (SYA) is a youth provision charity empowering young people to develop as individuals, enjoy new challenges and make positive contributions to the community through volunteering, social action and active citizenship.

City Reach Youth Project offers children and young people free, open-access play and youth sessions, run by experienced and qualified professionals.