Many businesses in the area are interested in developing their links with local residential communities and charitable organisations and Team London Bridge is on hand to recommend groups for sponsorship opportunities and other partnership projects.  In this way we hope to develop and encourage long-term relationships between businesses and community organisations.

The following local charities have places available for the London Marathon on 25th April 2010.  Please contact the relevant person if you are interested.

Child's i Foundation - www.childsifoundation.org

NB: places are for BRIGHTON MARATHON on 18th April 2010.

In Uganda, the horrors of poverty, HIV/AIDS and violent conflict result in hundreds of babies as young as a few hours old being dumped by their desperate mothers in toilets, car parks, or on the roadsides of Uganda’s capital Kampala. And with all the current care homes full, life often looks bleak – and short – for these vulnerable children.

Child's i want to help put an end to the endemic problem of child abandonment in Uganda by setting up a ‘Child Abandonment Project’. Developed with leading experts in social care in the UK and Uganda, this unique model has three parts: a support programme to help mothers at risk of abandoning their babies; a transitional home to provide short-term life-saving care; and a family placement programme to ensure every child grows up in a loving family.

Contact: Perle Catchpole perle@childsifoundation.org

Hope for Children - www.hope-for-children.org

Hope for Children is based in Holyrood Street, just off Tooley Street. HOPE's aims and objectives are to assist children, who suffer through being helpless, orphaned, poor and exploited, in particular those living in developing countries. This is achieved through providing, promoting and advancing children’s rights to basic necessities, including education and health care, aimed at sustaining their long term development.

Hope for Children still has places available in the BUPA London 10k run on 31st May 2010.

Contact: Will Byles wb@hope4c.org

WPF Therapy - www.wpf.org.uk

WPF Therapy is the largest charitable provider of counselling and psychotherapy in England.  WPF exists to help people with emotional, psychological, spiritual and relationship problems by providing high-quality affordable counselling and psychotherapy; high-quality training to equip counsellors and psychotherapists to work competently in organisations or in private practice; making high-quality counselling/psychotherapy and training available as widely as possible through the full range of WPF organisations and conducting relevant research.

The chances are, if you have come this far you are already interested in volunteering. But what will you get out of it  Well, it can be an extremely rewarding experience, and provide a refreshing change of scenery. It’s also a great way to meet new people, broaden your horizons and potentially gain a vast array of new skills.

There are a number of different opportunities below, which have been split into groups.  This should allow you to easily find a project that suits your needs.  The groups are: Team Challenges, Pro Bono/Skills Sharing and Small Project Funding.

We can recommend a host of interesting and worthy local groups who would enthusiastically welcome input from our business community. Please contact georgina@teamlondonbridge.co.uk for a discussion.

Team Challenges
Team challenges are an ideal way to get to know your colleagues better, in an environment outside regular office life.  Talk to your HR department or Corporate Responsibility department to see if you can organise a group of people to help a local organisation.  More team challenges will be added soon, but if you have a particular idea, please email georgina@teamlondonbridge.co.uk and we will match you up with a local group.  Download our list of team challenges.

A day in the life... Could you provide an interesting 'Day In The Life Of...' your business to inform and inspire a group of young people in making career choices  Whether you are an architect or an accountant, working in marketing, property or anything else, and if you can spare four hours to explain your business to a group of local young people, please get in touch to discuss how to take it forward.

Pro-bono and skills sharing
Many charities and community groups are run by a very small team of people, who are unlikely to have the time and all of the skills to devote to tasks ranging from financial planning, to marketing their work or doing the accounts, for example.  Here is where you come in!  Pro-bono is ideal because often you can do the majority of it remotely, either at home or at work if your employer can grant you some time for volunteering, which many do.  Some pro-bono opportunities are below but click here for even more. 

Help to develop a sponsorship pack A small theatre organisation wishes to maximise funding opportunities through corporate sponsorship.  A volunteer mentor is needed to help develop a pack and accompanying presentation and to help identify interested businesses.  The organisation need initial meetings every couple of weeks to discuss set-up and progress of the pack and presentation, and to be available on the phone and email for guidance.

Marketing Assistance needed Local history organisation is looking for a Marketing Assistant to work with the Development Group and create a logo around the planned 2010 production to celebrate Southwark's history. The role will also involve pitching news stories to help the group raise its profile and raise funds.  Hours are what you make it but there are meetings every few weeks in the evening.  Candidates should have experience with branding and print media.

 
A little goes a long way - funding small projects
You may also want to consider supporting a local group through funding.  We have a selection of projects that are ready to go.  With just £2,000 these groups can make a little bit of money go a very long way as well as making an enormous difference to a number of children and young people in Southwark.  Click here to download a list of funding opportunities.

London Bridge Urban Pioneers The Architecture Foundation is the UK's leading independent architecture centre.  Its role is to promote and encourage the best in contemporary architecture and bring it to a wide public.  A team of four 16-19 year olds will explore the changes and developments between London Bridge and Tower Bridge.  The team will help public consultation, canvassing the opinions of hard to reach groups and disseminating them via a new website.  They will take part in film-making, radio production and web design etc and hold an event to launch the website.  Just £3,000 would help this project fulfill it's full potential as you will be one of a number of contributing businesses.

Funding opportunity for Borough Music School Based at Charles Dicken Primary School, Lant Street, SE1, the music school is a registered UK charity which offers heavily subsidised music lessons to local children.  Lessons take place on Mondays and Wednesdays during term time, with occasional special events in the holidays.  Just £2,000 would provide music books and equipment, tutors and five taster workshops for beginners.