An update from the OneFamily memberships team
As a member-owned business, we believe that what we do should have a positive impact on our workplaces, customers, communities and the wider world. Our OneFamily Memberships team give us a taste of what they’ve been working on….
We’re on a journey to make Inspiring Better Futures an integral part of what we do
Our new vision - Inspiring Better Futures - underpins our commitment to doing the right thing at every level, with a focus on access to education and training, improving life chances and fostering financial wellbeing.
Here’s how we’re supporting our members...
Young Person’s Education Grants
The cost of further education and training can be a financial strain and create a barrier for many young people and their families. We’re passionate about improving access to learning and we believe that education is a key foundation to unlocking future opportunities. This is why we provide Young Person’s Education Grants for 15 to 19-year-olds.
Our grants can be used towards essential expenses including:
- Apprenticeship costs – such as essential equipment
- Further education costs - including travel, laptops and books/study materials
- Other study or work-related costs - such as specialist clothing/uniforms and skills training
Did you know?
In 2020 we awarded a total of £82,000 - helping 164 young people purchase items such as laptops, textbooks, train tickets and essential equipment for apprenticeship schemes.
We’re helping to support our communities
We believe in playing an active role in supporting and empowering our local communities by providing much needed funding.
How we support our customers and communities:
- We’ve awarded over £4m to our customers and communities since 2015, helping over 350, good causes and supporting over 3,000 individuals
- Young Person’s Education Grants – for those aged 15-19, to help to reduce the financial burden of further education
- Community Grants – providing funding for local causes nominated by our customers, including foodbanks, schools and disability charities. Our next round of Community Grants is taking place in Autumn 2021
- Supporting our local community, including Brighton & Hove Pride, Age UK and our local NHS Ambulance Service
Team Domenica – One of our Community Grant winners in 2020
“With the support of a OneFamily Community Grant, we developed and delivered a Virtual Training and Support Programme, allowing all of our young people with learning disabilities to continue with their employment training, maintain positive wellbeing and stay connected to their Team Domenica community”
Rosa Monckton,
Founder & Chairman
Find out more about how we’ve supported our members and communities.
We’re playing an active role through employee volunteering
Volunteering is a key element of our mutual DNA. How we’ve done things has evolved over time, but we’ve always taken an active role working with the local community. From our award-winning community programme in the 1990s to supporting our local community as part of our vision:
- Enabling skills development and access to education for young people
- Improving financial wellbeing and digital inclusion
- Helping to reduce poverty
Giving something back to the community is one of the first principles of mutuality and something we’re proud to be involved in at OneFamily. We’re busy developing new volunteering relationships with local charities to support the key values of our Inspiring Better Futures vision.
Supporting our colleagues – upcoming diversity and inclusivity initiatives in October
Prioritising our colleagues’ wellbeing whilst fostering a supportive working environment is key to how we run our business. Put simply if our staff members feel supported and listened to, then they will be more able to look after the needs of our customers.
Black History Month
Black History Month UK is launching a new campaign called ‘Proud to Be’ in October; with national celebrations and events to honour the too-often unheralded accomplishments of Black Briton.
We’re marking Black History Month in October by celebrating the achievements of the diverse workforce we have at OneFamily asking colleagues to get involved and shape our celebrations. As part of our ongoing Diversity & Inclusion programme, colleagues will be getting involved by sharing stories or suggesting topics for us to explore and talk more about.
10,000 Black Interns
We’re supporting #10000BlackInterns, a campaign that will transform the horizons and prospects of young Black people in the UK. We are a mutual with a strong social conscience, so supporting and encouraging diversity and inclusion in the workplace is right at the heart of our ethos. It’s something we take extremely seriously, so we’ve created two paid internships in our IT & Change departments (one in each) as part of the #10000BlackInterns scheme.
Local Charity Partnerships – coming soon!
Our new local charity initiative is another way we’re planning to help play our part in Inspiring Better Futures. We’re holding a colleague vote in the Autumn to select three new charity partnerships focussed on:
Access to education and training
Providing support, training and advice to help people develop their skills and unlock their potential.
Improving life chances
Helping disadvantaged people escape or avoid poverty through providing support, advocacy and amenities.
Fostering financial wellbeing
Providing support and advice to those in financial hardship and creating employment opportunities.
The three winning charities will receive much needed funding and hands-on support through colleague volunteering, mentoring, skills sharing and more.
We’ll be announcing the winners later in the year and you’ll be able to find out how our new partnerships are developing on social media and in future Adviser communications.