Accepting our responsibility to support the local community

MD Tony Hobbs said; “As a firm, we accept our responsibility to support the local community with our skills, knowledge and experience. This is part of our underlying values at CRM. We agreed to make a commitment to an employee volunteering scheme that truly helps our team to support the causes of which they are passionate. We considered 3 hours per month to be a more realistic time to allow the team member to prepare and attend meetings. In addition to our individual commitments, this year we agreed to support a charity of the year and we chose Sobell House, a charity close to many of the team”

Here are just some of the examples of how the team at CRM give back to the local community in Oxfordshire.

The Oxford Food Bank

The Oxford Food Bank collects good quality fresh food from local supermarkets and wholesalers and delivers it for free to numerous local registered charities. CRM Director, Noel Heaven, supports the charity with the Treasurer and accountancy roles as well as attending Trustee meetings.

Cathy Howard, Manager of the Oxford Food Bank said; “Noel has been an invaluable part of the leadership team at the Oxford Food Bank. He has provided both financial and management assistance since our inception.”

Quest for learning

Quest for Learning is a teaching and training charity that aims to inspire young minds struggling with literacy and numeracy. CRM Managing Director, Tony Hobbs, supports the charity with their financials, reporting and attends their board meetings.

Jayne Lacny, Director at Reading Quest, said; “Tony has been a stalwart in terms of supporting us for the last 7 years. He has advised on financial matters to enable the charity to take a medium to long-term view on how best to survive in a competitive market. Tony has been instrumental in putting us in such a sensible financial position, guiding us through a 5-year Big Lottery project and the period of adjustment after it finished. Tony cares about the work we do. He has never wavered in his commitment. This mirrors the beliefs that his company and its staff has in supporting the local community.”

SSNAP

SSNAP, located at John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, is the charity dedicated to supporting the families of sick and premature babies. CRM Director, Alan Sowden, supports the charity as a parent volunteer, having benefitted from their help after the premature birth of his daughter at just 26 weeks’ gestation.

Charity Director Emma Cantrell, said; “Our parent volunteers are a vital part of the support we offer sharing their expertise, support and understanding. No one knows better what it feels like to have a baby who is sick or premature than a parent who has had the same experience. We are so glad that Alan has given up his time to volunteer with us. It is especially beneficial to Dads, whose emotional needs are so often overlooked when going through these difficult and often traumatic experiences.”

Didcot Girls School

Mike Foster has supported Didcot Girls School, in the voluntary role of Enterprise Adviser (EA), for over 3 years. He was the first EA to take up the role in Oxfordshire and now also supports other EA’s in supporting other schools. The role, supported locally by OxLEP, is primarily to link the school with local businesses, contribute to developing an effective careers plan and develop the employability skills of the students.

Stuart George, Head of Careers at DGS, said; “The school has been incredibly fortunate to have Mike working with us to develop school-business links and to provide some wonderful opportunities for our pupils. As we say to anyone who will listen… every school needs an EA, and everyone needs an EA who is like Mike Foster. We are hugely grateful for this support in developing the talents, confidence and aspirations of our pupils.”

Charity of the Year – Sobell House

For 2018, CRM chose Sobell House hospice to be their charity of the year. They have organised cake sales, a tuck shop, reception collection tins, Christmas card sales, a fire walk and organised a race night at Holiday Inn. CRM are on target to raise over £5,000, whilst also attracting additional donations from their clients.

Tim Wraith, Corporate Partnerships Manager at Sobell House said: “We are delighted that Chapman Robinson & Moore is supporting Sobell House as their Charity of the Year. We are incredibly grateful for their support”

You can read more about CRM in the community at: www.crmoxford.co.uk/about-us/crm-in-the-community/