CHAMBER NEWS
Charity offers support to people from all walks of life
Each year, the Chamber president chooses three charities across our three counties to support with a series of fundraising activities. In 2021, these organisations are Chesterfield Samaritans, Help the Homeless Leicester and Nottinghamshire Hospice. In this issue, Business Network speaks to the founder of Help the Homeless Leicester.
The success of our virtual events
Once again, the Enterprising Women group is entering the brighter months with a spring in our step. There have been a variety of
incredibly successful events, each of which have been well attended with some outstanding guest speakers involved. Attendees of the most recent
Enterprising Women event featuring guest speaker Natalie Fahy (pictured), editor of Nottinghamshire Live and Derbyshire Live, described the event as “honest”, “inspiring” and “immensely eye-opening to the journalism industry”.
‘We have been delighted with the engagement and attendance from our members’
We now have our sights set on
upcoming events over the summer, including an event on 22 May to announce the Enterprising Women Awards finalists, featuring with Chamber vice- president and Futures Housing Group chief executive Lindsey Williams as guest speaker. Despite events having to have
been run virtually over the past year, we have been delighted with the engagement and attendance from our members. The interaction, collaboration
and connectivity has remained consistent for group members and as a network we have supported each other. Members are always welcome
to join our network, and we look forward to seeing both familiar and new faces at our next event.
Eileen Richards MBE and Jean Mountain, co-chairs of Enterprising Women
38 business networkMay 2021
Who are you and what’s your role within the charity? My name is Arif Voraji and I founded the charity. I’m also in charge of highlighting our work to the public, businesses and anyone in general who may be in treated in working with us or supporting us. I am the “hob knobber” and thrive in networking, although this is very restricted at present.
What is the background to your charity? I started the movement from the boot of my car in 2014 with 14 pairs of jeans, before fully registering in March 2018. I took inspiration from a Facebook video of a friend in Bolton helping someone with clothing and replicated that in Leicester.
Who do you support? We support homeless people from all walks of life – street homeless, people being evicted and prisoners being released to no fixed address – to find accommodation by working with Leicester City Council. The majority of our referrals
come via professional services or organisations, and we also help anyone struggling with white or material goods, as well as delivering food parcels to people’s doorsteps every Wednesday.
still in accommodation supported by the council.
How important a role do businesses have to play in supporting your charity? Their role is very important. We appreciate all monetary donations of any size as I firmly believe it all adds up, but when businesses join our 2020 Club, which costs £460 per year, it’s a great cash injection.
How has Covid-19 affected the work of the charity? We have become busier with provisions, such as food parcel deliveries, but the housing advocacy work slowed down as the majority of homeless people are
What does the future hold for your charity? We’ll continue to grow internally, with more staff, and we’re currently looking at moving into a bigger headquarters to help this growth.
For more information on how businesses can support Help the Homeless Leicester, contact
av@hthleicester.co.uk
The Chamber is supporting Help the Homeless Leicester by encouraging businesses to take part in the charity’s Sox & Box campaign. Organisations and individuals can donate new socks and boxer
shorts, which will then be handed out to service users. Help the Homeless Leicester will make collections from business
premises in Derbyshire on Tuesday 25 May, Nottinghamshire on Wednesday 26 May and Leicestershire on Thursday 27 May. To book a collection from your premises, email
Help@HTHLeicester.co.uk. Alternatively, send items directly to Help the Homeless Leicester Sox & Box Campaign, 9 Abbey Street, Leicester, LE1 3TE.
Face mask sales support charities
A healthcare equipment manufacturer has pledged to donate a proportion of proceeds from every face mask it sells to the three charities being supported by the Chamber. International Biomedical Limited, based in Nottingham, makes CE-
approved masks, including the medical-grade Type IIR coverings. It has set a fundraising target of £5,000 by donating 50p towards the Chamber’s charity pot – to be split between Chesterfield Samaritans, Help the Homeless Leicester and Nottinghamshire Hospice – from every £7.50 box of 50. Chamber members can also benefit from an exclusive discount of 50p
per box. The company’s director Steven von Kohorn said: “We are delighted to
offer a double benefit to Chamber members and the Chamber-supported charities, which really will make a difference in these troubled times. “Type IIR medical masks are still the most essential barrier between us
and rising infection rates. These specific masks are the ones chosen by the NHS to protect frontline workers.”
For more information about the member offer, visit
internationalbiomedical.co.uk/chamber
Steven von Kohorn
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