Charity of the Year Partnerships at Sobell House

Q. Please tell B4 a little bit about Opus Energy and the impact they have had on the energy industry over the past 16 years?

Opus Energy is an energy supplier that provides gas and electricity exclusively to businesses, as well as buying renewable power back from small business generators. It’s been an exciting few years for us – we started here in Oxford in 2002 and we’re now the sixth largest supplier to businesses in the UK.

To give you an idea of our size, over 340,000 business sites across the country get their electricity or gas from Opus Energy, and many of these are small, independent businesses and also charities like Sobell House

Right now, we’re really focused providing the right type of service for our customers. Small business owners are some of the hardest working people in the UK, and we want to do more than just keep their lights on – we want to support them and help them to make their business successful.

Q. Why did Opus Energy choose Sobell House as their Charity of the Year?

It’s really thanks to the people who work at Opus Energy that we’ve chosen to support Sobell House. We knew we wanted to support a local charity, so our Oxford team members put it to a vote and Sobell House came out on top as the charity of choice.

Many of our colleagues have been touched by the work that Sobell House do and will personally attest for the fantastic support and service they offer. Those of us who’ve visited the hospice have been blown away by the dedication of the team – the hard work, love and attention that goes into their day jobs is truly humbling. Anything we can do to help them keep up the good work is well worth our efforts.

Q. How important is it to the business to partner with a well-known local charity?

When a business has been somewhere for as long as we have, you begin to feel like a real part of the community. Opus Energy is a company that’s powered by its people, and so it makes sense that our employees tell us which charity they want to give a helping hand to. Giving back to the community that has allowed us to thrive is a no-brainer.

Q. Have your staff risen to the challenge and what have they been doing?

They have! We’ve had everything from carnival-themed fundraising days to serious athletic feats – including running the Oxford Half Marathon and taking on the Three Peaks challenge. If there’s anything we’ve learned this year, it’s that our team members like to give it their all, and that extends to supporting Sobell House.

Q. And lastly, what message would you like to give to the local business community considering supporting Sobell House?

Making decisions for your business is tough, and there’s rarely one right answer, but deciding to support Sobell House is an easy choice. They have a fantastic partnership team who will work closely with you to ensure your business and its employees have ample opportunity to get involved and give back.

If you are interested in forming a partnership with Sobell House and would like to know more please contact Tim Wraith their Corporate Partnerships Manager.