Member Article

Agency donates £35,000 of support to Yorkshire Children’s Centre

Huddersfield-headquartered communications firm Scriba PR has joined forces with Yorkshire Children’s Centre, to deliver pro bono support to the local charity for the next 12 months.

The equivalent of a £35,000 contract will further raise the profile of this hard-working organisation, which has helped more than 2,500 people in the Kirklees community.

Delivering media relations services, social media support and digital content creation, Scriba’s goal is to provide the Yorkshire Children’s Centre with access to a bolt-on strategic marketing team, without the charity having to dip into any of their hard-earned funds.

The collaboration came about when, in the earlier weeks of lockdown, Scriba gifted all employees one day of paid leave per month to undertake charitable work. As an Associate Trustee of Yorkshire Children’s Centre already, managing director Katie Mallinson chose this organisation as her ‘worthy cause’, and three other colleagues followed suit.

Commenting on the partnership, the charity’s Head of Early Intervention and Prevention services, Jane Sykes said: “Like all not-for-profit organisations, we are so focused on helping our community that every hour of colleagues’ time is spent on the delivery and continued improvement of our services. We know we’ve so many great things to say, but resources rarely stretch to enable us to pursue communications activity too.

“Scriba’s support will enable us to widen our reach and drive awareness of the many things we can do to help the people of Kirklees.”

Elaborating on the charity’s work, CEO Helen Orlic continued: “Our name suggests we’re here to serve children only, but in actual fact our vision is a world where everyone has opportunities for a better life.

“So, from providing accident prevention services for 0-19 year olds as part of our role in the Thriving Kirklees partnership, for example, to supporting vulnerable adults and older people via our Community Connections services, our work is extremely varied. Every year, more and more Kirklees residents seek to access the help we can offer, and thankfully our volunteer numbers are strong. But with increasing demand and an ever-rising cost base, every ounce of profile-raising effort is worth it.”

The charity also runs the Pass It On social enterprise selling pre-loved furniture, clothing and bric-a-brac; an independent inclusion school with sites in Huddersfield and Heckmondwike; child contact interventions; domestic abuse prevention programmes; the Hopeful Families service to break down the barriers to securing work; dementia support; community response services and more.

The charity’s heritage dates back to the early 1970s and the first building – a converted bus garage – opened its doors in 1975. Two community buildings are now in operation in Kirklees – Brian Jackson House in Huddersfield, and Jo Cox House in Batley.

“We’ve a very important legacy to preserve,” concluded Helen. “And that is no mean feat in the current climate. I look forward to far more people in Kirklees and the surrounding areas, learning what we’re about, with Scriba’s help.”

Katie Mallinson, Scriba PR’s managing director, added: “Choosing a worthy cause to support is always tough, as there are so many deserving beneficiaries throughout the country. But this time, we wanted to keep things really local. We know that by donating our skills and time to a Kirklees-based charity that benefits Kirklees-based communities we can be sure we are doing something that will help the area our business is growing in.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Katie Mallinson .