Business as (un)Usual - a few words from our CEO
BIG Alliance and East London Business Alliance are here for the community and business as we all face the challenges of COVID-19 together. We are responding to the needs of Islington and east London community partners and business members by offering more remote volunteering opportunities, employment support and fundraising, as we all have to adjust.
BIG Alliance with the East London Business Alliance (ELBA) has 30 years' history of serving our community and now we need to do so more than ever. We have been delighted by the number of our members that have proactively contacted us to help.
We are working closely with our community partners to understand in detail the challenges they face in serving local people at present, and with our business partners to meet those needs through remote volunteering, employment support and fundraising.
Everyone knows this period is really challenging - social distancing, new remote working habits, jobs losses, school closures likely - and some will be much harder hit than others. BIG Alliance and ELBA is ensuring that with our business partners, we support our Islington and east London community.
We know Food Banks are struggling in the wake of the virus. Donations are down 25% and, with people panic-buying in supermarkets, important staples like UHT milk are difficult to purchase. The current health situation means fewer people are physically volunteering in the community, so to combat this ELBA is running a virtual food drive.
Here are some examples of what ELBA and BIG Alliance are doing:
We are working with our partners to create a relief fund for community organisations working directly with older people who are isolated in their homes, helping families under stress, with people who have lost their jobs and supporting the people still at work who are keeping things going.
As the local labour market experiences some inevitable turbulence, we stand ready to continue helping people who face uncertainty or unemployment. Our programmes that enable access to key employability skills and sustainable career opportunities will remain accessible both digitally and where appropriate, face to face.
We are also redoubling our efforts that aim to assist individuals with precarious employment status, including those who have no choice but to go into work because they cannot afford to stay home and lose pay.
In partnership with Food Banks and businesses, the ELBA Virtual Food Drive has been established to enable business volunteers to do an online shop for a Food Bank.
Telephone Befriending for the elderly. During the Coronavirus outbreak, many older people are facing long periods of time isolated from other people. As part of our Isolation Reduction Project, ELBA is organising volunteers to call an older person, to break the feeling of loneliness during this time.
Whether schools remain open or close shortly, we are looking for inspirational speakers to share their career journey via Skype and webinars with schools, to help boost morale.
We are asking business volunteers to remotely give feedback on jobseeker and student CVs and offer e-mentoring support, so individuals can improve their employability despite uncertain times.
We are organising video mock interviews so that business volunteers can chat through an individual's CV and a job description with them, work through suggested interview questions and answers together.
BIG Alliance and ELBA are aware that not all activities lend themselves to remote volunteering, such as face-to-face mentoring with young people or vulnerable adults, so we are working hard with community and business partners to make arrangements, whilst still safeguarding individuals.
Please keep in touch as things change for you. We are here for you and we will all work through this challenging time together.
Ian Parkes
CEO, East London Business Alliance
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Notes:
Food Bank statistic https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/10/food-banks-run-out-of-milk-and-other-staples-as-shoppers-panic-buy-coronavirus
For further comment, please contact ELBA CEO Ian Parkes ian.parkes@elba-1.org.uk or 07768 993 704, www.elba-1.org.uk
ELBA (East London Business Alliance) is a registered charity and membership organisation. Established in 1989, ELBA has over 30 years of experience in enabling successful partnerships between business and the community. In the past year, ELBA helped place over 300 people into work in London through its award-winning Employment Works programme, delivered over 12,000 business volunteers into the community, and worked with over 300 local organisations in east London.
The BIG Alliance was set up in 2012 by ELBA, Macquarie Group and Islington Giving, bringing ELBA's experience and model into Islington to benefit local businesses and the community.