Deloitte is continuing the success of its 5 Million Futures responsible business programme, which aims to help five million people get to where they want to be through access to education and employment, by partnering with 12 new charities in the UK. This includes two North West-based charities: The Hive, Wirral Youth Zone and Manchester Youth Zone (MYZ).
The new charities join a cohort of 10 organisations who renewed their existing partnerships with Deloitte for the coming year. A reoccurring theme through many of the partnerships and a key objective for Deloitte is to support children and young people. Six of the new charity partners are aligned to mental health and wellbeing while the remaining are aligned to homelessness, health, education, employment, and inclusion (disability, diversity, and social mobility).
Chris Rix, Tax Partner and North West Responsible Business Lead at Deloitte, said: “Our people were invited to nominate a charity they felt passionate about to be a potential charity partner for Deloitte North West. After receiving the nominations, we created a shortlist based on alignment to our social impact strategy of access to education, employment and inclusion, and invited each charity to apply. The final vote by our people was for the charity that they felt they could strongly support on a specific project or programme in their local area.
“Our goal is to break down barriers to education and employment, giving individuals the skills and opportunities to succeed. It is our pleasure to welcome Wirral Youth Zone and Manchester Youth Zone, alongside our national charity partnerships, to our 5 Million Futures programme and further demonstrate our purpose to make an impact that matters.”
The Hive, Wirral Youth Zone’s vision is for every young person on the Wirral to be happy, healthy and to thrive within their community. By always putting young people first, they combine high quality youth work with inspiring activities in an inclusive, safe space.
MYZ provides a unique safe place, with a wealth of sport, creative, education and employability activities. MYZ works to raise their members’ aspirations, equip them with the tools to increase their confidence, build positive relationships and add something back to their own community.
Mark Easdown, CEO at The Hive, Wirral Youth Zone, said: “We are so excited to have the backing of Deloitte North West. We rely on our volunteers to keep doing what we do, supporting thousands of young people across Wirral every year to raise their aspirations. To have the support of an international organisation like Deloitte means so much, and we look forward to welcoming their volunteers.”
Amanda Naylor, CEO at Manchester Youth Zone, said: “The Deloitte Manchester team have already been a huge help, with over 100 volunteers helping us maintain and update our world class facilities, keep our local areas clean, engage with our young people and attending events to celebrate our 10th birthday. We are really grateful for the support from the full Deloitte team, helping us reach even more young people with year-round support, inspiration and opportunities to fulfil their potential, and to bridge the gap between Harpurhey and the opportunities available in the city centre.”
Deloitte employees are encouraged to use 3.5 hours of the firm’s time each month to volunteer it’s 5MF partners. 150 team members from across Deloitte North West have been involved in the charity initiative. In May, volunteers took part in ‘Better Futures Month’- a month-long volunteering initiative that directly supports Deloitte’s ambition to build better futures across the UK through skills, education and employment.
In addition to their charity partners, Deloitte will continue to work with its 33 school partnerships across the UK. Last year Deloitte pledged to donate 7,500 of its laptops to UK schools, charities and families. The latest batch of more than 1,000 laptops have been donated to Ukrainian refugees arriving in the UK to help families stay connected with loved ones, support access to education and employment and connect to communities in the UK and elsewhere.
