Putting the ‘brilliant’ in ‘B Corp’: donations in the north-east of England make a real impact
Donor: UMi Commercial LTD
Location: Durham, north-east England
What was donated:
2 portable leaflet stands
1 lighting/recording rig
2 portable induction loop kits
1 induction loop receiver
31 lockable, portable boxes
1 portable wheelchair access ramp
2 portable projectors
Sector: consultancy/business support
Charities that benefitted:
Durham-based business support organisation and certified B Corp UMi Commercial Ltd has been supporting firms right across the UK since 2007 with advice, funding solutions and other services.
Jean Royal, Office Manager at UMi, explained the spirit of the organisation:
“We firmly believe that businesses have the power to make a difference, and at UMi we love to do what others say can’t be done.”
Jean recently used the A Good Thing platform to donate 2 portable leaflet stands, 1 lighting/recording rig, 2 portable induction loop kits, 1 induction loop receiver, 31 lockable, portable boxes, 1 portable wheelchair access ramp, 2 portable projectors, and was happy to tell us the process was “very smooth”. She added that the firm was “blown away by the number of responses”.
Jean explained that UMi was repurposing items that were no longer needed, and found that A Good Thing was a great fit:
“UMi is an employee-owned B Corp which conducts itself through the ‘ART’ of UMi – being ‘Adventurous, Responsible, and valuing Togetherness’. All these elements combined give UMi the desire to make a positive difference in the community and world around us.”
One of the charities matched with UMi was Citizens Advice Newcastle, an independent charity that provides free, confidential and impartial advice to people who are living and studying in Newcastle. Its Research & Campaigns Manager Hannah Cooper told us:
“We had a really good experience. We saw that the induction loops and receivers were available via the A Good Thing newsletter, and registered via the website to receive these to make our advice services more accessible. As a local independent charity, we currently provide advice to over 8,000 people a year; we advise around a quarter of these in person.”
Within a week, Citizens Advice Newcastle was able to get in contact with UMi and arrange a collection, as Hannah explained:
“The induction loop system will help us to better support clients with hearing aids, as the induction loop is a special sound system that transmits audio directly to hearing aids without background noise.”
The Northbourne Street Youth Initiative charity, which works with children and young people in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, received a foldaway wheelchair ramp from UMi.
Rachel Martin told us this was the charity’s first time receiving something via A Good Thing, and said that it had been perfect timing: the organisation had recently reviewed its accessibility and had been looking into adjusting and improving the front entrance. However, as a small charity, such adjustments are usually very expensive.
Having the foldaway ramp donated has allowed the Northbourne Street Youth Initiative to take its first steps towards becoming more accessible. Rachel Martin tells us the charity will definitely be using A Good Thing again in the future:
“As a youth club, we can find a use for pretty much anything!”
Trauma Stop UK CIC is a professional cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) provider based in County Durham. Paula Maddison-Green from the organisation collected 31 lockable, portable boxes from UMi and described where they would be going:
“I collected 31 ‘hot boxes’, which are small containers that can keep people’s valuables safe. As there were so many, I donated 15 of them onward to the Daisy Chain autism charity and kept six for the rooms in my ‘safe space’, where I support men subject to domestic abuse in the north-east of England. Thank you so very much. I’m sure we will match again for other vital things we may need here across our third-sector organisations!”