by Lucy Horsman

FOLLOWING the launch of our latest Charity Business Review (CBR) in February, April saw the final meeting of the project, as all involved returned to discuss the progress they have made over the last two months.

We partnered three local charities, York Greenways, Stretch and Musical Connections with four employee volunteers each, all hoping to use their business expertise and skills to develop key areas identified by the charities.

A fantastic success story was York Greenways and their volunteers. York Greenways started the process keen to increase their volunteer engagement. Peter Huxford, founder of the charity, said: “It was a really positive exercise with a committed and enthusiastic team of volunteers. It has focused our thinking on what we need to do, and helped us define our vision.”

After working with the employee volunteers for two months, Greenways have a new logo, an improved website, and high visibility vests to promote the charity while they are out enhancing the biodiversity of York’s cycle networks.

Stuart from Portakabin, arranged a volunteering day for eight of his colleagues to support Greenways - all clearly visible in their new vests, of course. Stuart commented on how much he had learned himself during the process. “As a keen cyclist, I really took for granted what York Greenways does.”

Another volunteer, Christine from York St John University, said: “It was great to work with people from different backgrounds and to gain different perspectives. It was a real team effort which was great to be part of and it was interesting to see that the business principles are the same, just applied in a different way.”

Our next CBR will begin in June. If you are a charity who would like to take part please email info@yorkcares.co.uk for more information.

Our tenth annual Stakeholder Meeting was also hosted in April at Aviva’s riverside offices overlooking the Minster.

It was a really enjoyable evening to celebrate both our achievements over the last ten years, as well as looking forward to our future projects, including our extended Starting Blocks programme.

The programme is expanding to support young looked after people, providing work experience placements and skills workshops.

The formal launch and briefing for this project will be at York Marriott Hotel on May 18 for interested employers.

* For more information about all the York Cares programmes, and to get involved, visit the website at www.yorkcares.co.uk and follow @YorkCares on Twitter.