The Covid-19 pandemic brought our day-to-day activity to a crashing halt back in March 2020. Now, 18 months later in September 2021, we’re still figuring what a post-pandemic world looks like, and, most importantly, how to get there. There isn’t a single person, business, or organisation that hasn’t been impacted by this situation in some way or another, and the Jackson Lees Foundation is no exception.
Lockdown meant that support for the most vulnerable in our society had never been more important. Cruelly, as was the case with every charitable organisation, our ability to support them had been hindered dramatically. However, this wasn’t a time to stop. This was a time to adapt.
Most charities rely on fundraising events and the efforts of volunteers to raise funds and provide support. It was clear to those of us who work within the Jackson Lees Foundation that we would need to adapt and change how we support charities in the ‘Working from Home’ world we had been thrown into.
How we adapted
At the start of the pandemic it was thought we would only be in lockdown for a couple of weeks at the most. It would go as fast as it came we all thought. The strategy in March 2020, therefore, was to simply postpone plans we had at the time and focus on when we would be back in the office. By the end of April it was starting to become clearer that we may be at home a little longer than we thought.
The lockdown had interrupted our application process for our next group of Foundation charities, due to be selected in May 2020. We now had to consider how best to engage with our charities and support them when many had staff on furlough with unclear plans for moving forward.
First, we decided we would not select new charities for 2020/21. We recognised that our chosen charities from the previous year needed our help and support now more than ever. We decided then to use this year to assist more charities as and when we could rather than just focussing on a small group. This felt like the best choice to make given so many would be in need of funding and support.
The next step was the most important, and the most difficult. How do we support our charities from home? How do we mobilise and engage without any access to physical space, particularly when everything is looking so uncertain? Like many other people in 2020, Zoom became our best friend, and in a way, a lifeline.
Our people were so ready to get involved and support our events. The great thing about Jackson Lees Group is our culture, and as a team we were all so ready to get together and (virtually) make a positive difference however we could.
What we did
One of our first events was in conjunction with our firms Diversity Committee, who had been approached by a local school who were hoping to raise funds to purchase children’s books with more diverse backgrounds.
To support this our Foundation team put together our first Zoom quiz, the ‘Jackson Lees Locked in and Loaded quiz’. It was amazing to have so many staff get involved with such a great cause and we were able to raise an incredible £1220!
We followed this up in August 2020 with our first ever ‘Silent Auction’, something we definitely hope to repeat in the future. We had some great donations from staff and local businesses which helped to raise over £270 to be shared between ROOF Liverpool and The Hive, both incredible charities doing really important work to support the Merseyside community.
In October we ran our Halloween 2020 events. With the support of our internal Working Parents Group we held some incredible Halloween competitions for our staff and their families to get involved in. The ‘Come As You Aren’t’ fancy dress and ‘Ahead of Carve’ Pumpkin carving competitions were a great success and raised £156 for the ADHD Foundation.
Next was our ‘Walk a Marathon by 2021’ event in support of the North West Legal Support Trust’s ‘Go the Extra Mile for Justice’ campaign. This campaign replaced the Liverpool Legal Walk which was cancelled due to Covid 19. Over 30 staff took part in walking 26 miles between the end of November to New Year’s Eve and raising nearly £420 for this amazing cause. We are excited to be taking part in the recently returned Liverpool Legal Walk taking place on 21st September 2021!
We had a number of events taking place in December 2020 in the run up to Christmas, which for some can be a difficult time of year. We ran a reverse advent calendar inviting staff and their families to put together food and toy hampers to support The Hive Youth Zone, a children’s charity based in the Wirral.
To further support The Hive and the amazing work they do supporting local children with food packages while schools were closed and during holidays we introduced our Week of Charity in December with lots of fun filled Christmas events including a Christmas Tree decorating competition, a Christmas Jumper Day and our Christmas quiz, ‘No Zoom at the Inn’.
Our Week of Christmas allowed us to raise a further £330 to go with our food hampers in support of The Hive’s work.
Looking to the future
2020 was a difficult year for many of us but we are so grateful for the support we have had from all our staff in helping the Jackson Lees Foundation continue to make a positive difference to so many charities here in Merseyside and beyond.
We have so much more planned for the future of the Foundation and look forward to sharing more of our work with you.
Following the terrible scenes in Afghanistan we have decided to set up a collection point for a Refugee Donation Appeal for clothes and necessities for those fleeing violence and persecution across the globe. Keep an eye on our social media channels for more information about this great project.
While the last 18 months has prevented us from starting our applications for our Foundation charities we are excited to announce these will return in 2022. See here for details.
Find out more about the Jackson Lees Foundation