SOCIAL IMPACT

Enrichment Festival to inspire students

Wellington Place and Ahead Partnership hold Enrichment Festival to inspire local students Sponsored and coordinated by MEPC, the asset manager and developer of Wellington Place, the festival welcomed Year 10 students from four different schools across Leeds to meet business volunteers from a range of organisations and levels. Youngsters from Co-op Academy, Farnley Academy, Bishop Young and Mount St Mary’s took part in interactive skills and careers workshops and office tours in an event designed to encourage workplace confidence and develop communication skills. Workshops were held by businesses including Redmayne Bentley, Burendo, Equifax, WSP, Brewin Dolphin and Buro Happold, and were designed around the theme of life skills, giving students the opportunity to build their skills in areas from money management to team-building and creating a LinkedIn profile. Alongside this, students were given office tours by businesses including Netpremacy, Mazars, NHS Digital, and Savills, helping them to get real-life insight into the wide range of career opportunities available to them at Wellington Place. Following the Festival, 100% of students surveyed said that it had increased their understanding of how to get into different careers, and 97% said it helped them to think about their goals after they finished school. Wellington Place and Ahead Partnership - a purpose-driven business that supports the private sector to design and deliver social value projects to overcome inequality, promote opportunity and positively impact wider society - regularly work together to host events to encourage social mobility and inspire the next generation, including their annual Women of the Future event. A year 10 student said: “The festival helped develop my ideas about how workplaces run, my understanding of different jobs and what they really look like on a day-to-day basis, as well as the different career opportunities.” Dominique Murray, Head of Customer Experience at MEPC, said: “We love bringing the Wellington Place business community together and working alongside the Ahead Partnership to help inspire young people, boost their confidence, and improve their employability. “We’re passionate about supporting the wider community and were delighted to give students first-hand insight into the range of amazing opportunities on offer to them and give then an insight into modern working environments such as Wellington Place. “We want to extend our thanks to all who took part to help us inspire students to think positively and confidently about their futures.” Megan Lipp, Head of Development at Ahead Partnership, added: “Experiencing business locations such as Wellington Place in real life enables students to gain a better understanding of how businesses actually work and the opportunities available right on their doorstep.”

SOCIAL IMPACT

All smiles as Manningham Housing Association celebrates at Mela

More than 600 Manningham Housing Association (MHA) customers have attended a Mela to thank them for their support and collectively celebrate the organisation’s achievements since the onset of the pandemic in 2020. The family event, held at Bradford City Football Club, included a host of fun activities including a bouncy castle, magician, penalty shoot-out, rodeo bull, virtual bowling and face painting, together with performance stages and a hot buffet. Representatives of MHA’s community partners and agencies were also present including Bradford Hate Crime Alliance, HSBC, Hollings Youth Association, Staying Put, Bangladeshi Youth Association and Bradford District Credit Union. MHA is the first housing association in the country to be officially accredited for its work in promoting equality, diversity and inclusion. It also recently had its Customer Service Excellence accreditation reconfirmed with the independent assessor’s report describing the organisation as a “beacon of hope.” In 2021, the organisation won the Outstanding Approaches to Communications prize at the Chartered Institute of Housing’s Northern Awards “for incredible work with tenants and residents during the uncertainty of the Covid-19 pandemic,” and was shortlisted for two UK Housing Awards including Landlord of the Year. So far in 2022, MHA has won two Northern Housing Awards including Team of the Year for its work on the Building Bridges Bradford project which sought to bolster community resilience and challenge racism, prejudice and community division through social action activities. The initiative also supported people affected by Covid including those experiencing mental health challenges, loss of income and isolation. Ulfat Hussain, MHA Deputy Chief Executive and Director Operations, said: “I want to thank our magnificent team of dedicated staff – led by Amar Khan, our Customer Involvement and Engagement Officer – for their tireless work in making the Mela such a success. We are blessed with fantastic people who always pull together in testing times to do the best they can for our customers. We have received great feedback which demonstrates the important role we play in the community.

It runs in the family

Hannah Cummins of Ernest Cummins printers, said: ”Running a business, running a family and running a half marathon didn’t seem possible when I was first diagnosed with a brain injury, a symptomatic cavernoma and haemorrhage.” “While my neurologist and brain surgeon Mr Mario Teo managed my symptoms with treatment, I found out about other people who had suffered from the disease. “Simona had a brain haemorrhage at the wheel of her car and managed to get it to the hard shoulder. She had brain surgery for removal straight away and now runs the charity, along with Mr Mario Teo.” “We recently completed the London Land Marks Half Marathon, 13 miles in total, with support from my husband, raised over £3,000 so far for The Cavernoma Society.”