05 Aug 2022 The importance of supporting your community
As a business we have a lot of different responsibilities to a lot of different people. Naturally we have a duty to our customers, our colleagues, our partners and suppliers, but I think it goes a lot further than that. A great business, one with an eye for ethics, should always aim to be a force for good. I know that sounds pretty cliché but let me explain.
Businesses, especially ones that provide a service like us at One Connectivity, have a duty to be a positive influence in our communities. The East Midlands gives our business a home, and we should always strive to give back to it. As a Sales Director, I’d love to say that offering our fantastic services to local businesses is enough, but there’s definitely a bit more to it than that!
Community Partnerships
Supporting your community is about getting to know the organisations around you and using your business expertise for good. I think a great example of how we manage this at One Connectivity would be Featherstone Rovers. If you don’t already know Featherstone Rovers (you should!), they’re a Championship rugby league side based in Yorkshire.
We’re now Rovers’ official Connectivity Partner. We provided some state-of-the-art services to allow staff, players and fans to access a high-speed connection at their stadium. We’re now also their kit sponsor!
When Covid hit back in 2020, our expertise was called into action over at Featherstone. Alongside our sponsorship, we also supplied Covid testing stations to their training ground, allowing the team to get back up and running. As a pretty avid sports fan, I’ll admit that this one made me pretty proud.
Great causes
Being able to support charities and worthy causes is hugely important to us. The work they do in our community is fantastic and it’s good to be a part of it, even only in a small way.
I think the best example of this is the work we’ve done this year with Campaign Against Living Miserably, better known as CALM. They’re a suicide prevention charity, who raise awareness for suicide prevention, run lifesaving services and just generally bring people together when they need it most. It goes without saying that they provide an absolutely vital service.
We’ve partnered with CALM to launch One Connectivity’s #GetTalking campaign, which aims to make talking about mental health easier in a business environment. 125 lives are lost to suicide every week in the UK. If even one person decides to open up about how they’re feeling due to this initiative, I’d call it a job well done.
We’re talking to businesses in our local area, encouraging them to prioritise mental health in their workplace and sharing their own experiences, advice and guidance.
Our work at OC connects people all around the world, but local causes are still so important. We’re a proud East Midlands business, and I hope these examples show just how crucial it is for businesses like ours to support our communities.