Our Community
We support the communities in which we work and live and we know that both our staff and the communities in which we work can benefit from our desire to develop the people and places around us.
Irwin Mitchell Charitable Foundation
In 1997 the Partners and staff of Irwin Mitchell set up the ‘101 donations’ charity as an independent registered charity. Essentially the foundation aims to relieve poverty and provide aid in cases of need, hardship or distress.
To date, the foundation has supported a wide range of charities including organisations for older people, people with disabilities, children, local development initiatives, wildlife and animal charities. A designated Charity Committee meet on a monthly basis to arrange donations and fundraising events.
In addition to these nationwide activities, each regional office nominates a local charity for a 12 month period. These charities benefit from a range of fundraising initiatives and collaborations throughout the year.
Nominated Charities for 2008
Birmingham - Pets as Therapy
Glasgow - Langlands School
Leeds - Barnardo’s Willow Project
London Hospice - Richard House Children’s
Manchester - Gaddum Centre Children and Families Paediatric Palliative Care Service
Newcastle - Great North Air Ambulance
Sheffield - Heeley City Farm
We also operate the Give As You Earn (GAYE) scheme to enable members of staff to donate to charity in a tax efficient way. Staff can donate a small sum from their monthly and this is matched in sum by the partners of the firm. We are holders of a gold certificate for the GAYE scheme, as we are one of the top 10 contributors to the scheme in the UK.
A hands-on approach
It is important to help everyone to realise their full potential. We aim to support people of all ages, through a range of schemes which focus on personal development. As national members of Business in the Community (BITC), we recognise that is important to both our staff and the local communities that we offer a variety of ways to get involved.
"One of the reasons I came to work at Irwin Mitchell was because of its reputation of giving back to the community and being involved in community based projects. Having had the opportunity to get involved with local initiatives, I have experienced, first-hand, the difference that we can make to a community. It’s great to work in a firm that actively encourages staff to get involved."
- Georgina Sheldon, Solicitor
Right to Read
Volunteers from the firm provide reading support to children to raise their literacy standards through both the BITC, Right to Read programme in South Yorkshire and our own scheme in other parts of the country.
This is not only substantially increases a child's reading levels, but also helps build a child's self esteem and aspirations. Furthermore, it presents children with positive role models from the business world.
Business Action on Homelessness
Thanks to support from BITC, staff in our Sheffield office are given the opportunity to train as a Job Coach and work with homeless ‘clients’ from around the city in order to help support and structure their search for employment.
This sits alongside the close relationship that we have built with a number of homeless charities across the city of Sheffield which we have supported for a number of years.
We are active in all of our communities, and always seek opportunities to get involved with local charities, initiatives or challenges. In addition, by building strong relationships with community partners we can ensure that our support is matched to the needs of the community.