BizSpace Basingstoke discovers new ways to support local charities

I’m a giver, the biggest buzz I get out of life is seeing someone succeed and if I can say “I was a part of that” no matter the part I played, big or small, I get a natural high. There is no better feeling, period!

When I met a chap called Richard Thayer, I found a kindred spirit as he too is a natural giver, giving his experience, knowledge and time to help others but what he has done goes way beyond anything I could dream of.

Richard is a manager within Cass TEM UK, a business within Belvedere House.  Richard is also the Founder and Chairman of the M3 Job Club, initially set up with the aim of giving something back to society having experienced the ups and downs of being out of work after a period of redundancy himself. Determined to find a positive way to provide both focus and motivation following the emotional stresses that often accompany a job hunt, so the M3 Job Club was born.

Richard is a manager within Cass TEM UK, a business within Belvedere House.  Richard is also the Founder and Chairman of the M3 Job Club, initially set up with the aim of giving something back to society having experienced the ups and downs of being out of work after a period of redundancy himself. Determined to find a positive way to provide both focus and motivation following the emotional stresses that often accompany a job hunt, so the M3 Job Club was born.

Since its inception in April 2011, the club has supported over 650 members back to employment. In 2019, they have seen an average of 26 members a week of which they have on average 4 new members per week attending and 2 people secure employment a week. 

Everyone involved in the club is a volunteer and provides techniques and methods to those out of work and relies on the invaluable generosity and kindness of their members, alumni, businesses and small grants, combined with the foresight of people and businesses in Basingstoke and Deane. 

So, when Richard asked if we could help by providing him with the space to run a course, I jumped at the opportunity to be able to offer Belvedere House as a place that could provide this.

11 members of the club attended the training provided by Steve Mills, Director of Prudent Marketer and a regular business coach volunteer. The course looked at ‘How to use LinkedIn as a job seeking tool’. Following the success of the event, I was curious to know just how great an impact these events have and why is it so important that we play a more active role in them?  

Small businesses live at the core of BizSpace and we’re always looking for new ways to help them grow and thrive. Through our collaboration with M3 I believe we may have stumbled upon the perfect opportunity to extend the reach of our support into cities up and down the country.  By supporting charitable organisations, we can in turn help to support the individuals who rely on these charities to give them stability in their lives. 

There’s generally no denying that helping local charities will also help local communities but what about the economic effects? In fact, if you think about it, the economy can benefit extensively from the success of charities like M3.

Factors such as long-term unemployment can be hugely detrimental to our health. Not only do they worsen pre-existing conditions, but they can also actually cause them. In fact, people who have faced long-term unemployment are twice as likely to suffer from a mental illness, such as depression and anxiety, than those who are in employment. This is often the start of a downward spiral that puts a huge strain on our economy and communities each year. 

Now imagine an individual in this situation. They’ve lost their job, they’ve faced constant rejection in the quest to find a new one and they’re feeling lower than ever but suddenly, along comes M3 like the brakes on a car that’s about to hurtle off the edge of a cliff. Early intervention like this, has the power to lessen the burden on our already strained public services.   

This is why it was incredible for me to be able to offer our space for this purpose. To be able to contribute, even in the smallest way, feels very special and I look forward to more events like these. If you, or anyone you know, is looking for a great space to deliver training, run a course or hold an event, you can get in touch using my details below and together we can help to shape the future role of businesses within local communities. 

So, to get back to my opening line “So far, so good?” It is a definite yes.