Spitalfields Crypt Trust provides a range of high quality support and rehabilitation and training services to people who are facing problems of homelessness, alcohol, drugs, poverty and social isolation.

About seven years ago we began to provide more services and our staff grew from 11 people to 41. Our services increased but I don't think our professional skills base grew to the same extent, so we needed outside help.

The climate of fundraising in the City was also changing. You can't just write to a company any more and ask for money and they send you a cheque. Now it's very often linked to volunteer involvement, and the more a company mixes with you as a charity and trusts you, the more they're willing to invest in you longer term.

In 2004 we started working with City Action. We tell the service what our needs are and they introduce us to companies who are interested in helping us. We have built a relationship with the corporate social responsibility department at ABN AMRO. The company has helped us with some marketing and PR and someone did about 40 hours work on our HR policies to consolidate them into one document. They also painted our rehabilitation hospital. PRUPIM helped to set up our database, which tracks our supporters and holds all correspondence we send to them. Marriott Hotels contacted us about two years ago. They are known for their hospitality and good service, and one of the things they did for us was a tea party for the trust - all our service-users and staff. They came with their silver service and as many teacakes as they could.

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We've benefited enormously from City Action. It makes us more professional because companies' expertise is matched to what we need. Some of the best days of my working year are working with corporates. The tea party, for example, is a great day. Some of our staff don't get to meet all of our service-users so it's wonderful just to sit down and chat to people.

Recently someone rang up and said, ‘we want to help, what can we do?' I said we were running out of coffee for our homeless drop-in. They turned up at the end of the day with about seven carrier bags with beautiful cakes, lovely juices, books and games.

Dating game

Volunteering is similar to dating, says Carolyn Housman, corporate responsibility manager for the City of London Corporation, which funds City Action, a free employee volunteering broker for the City. “The first meeting can be a bit awkward and clumsy and City Action makes sure that things go smoothly and successfully,” she says. City businesses are paired with community organisations in the City and seven adjoining boroughs. Last year 45 corporate partners were linked with more than 60 community organisations.

Housman says: “We really capitalise on the fact that we're based in the City and we have that unique skills offering from all the financial and professional business services. And we take advantage of the fact that businesses really want to get engaged with their local communities.”

www.city-action.org

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