Read: Laying the foundations for change
Making a positive difference for your colleagues, for your clients and for the communities you serve is at the heart of being a purpose led business. It’s not about words, it’s about action – delivering real change where it is needed.
Top City law firm, Shoosmiths, were among the first signatories to the Social Mobility Pledge, set up by Rt Hon Justine Greening in 2018 to encourage businesses to play their part in boosting social mobility. It is now working with the Purpose Coalition, a group of the UK’s most innovative purpose-led leaders and organisations who are setting higher standards in delivering equality of opportunity to those people and places which have often been left behind. Following the pandemic, and in these continuing challenging economic times, that has never been more important.
The legal sector has a crucial role to play in ensuring that opportunities are open to everyone who has the potential, no matter what background or where they are from. Law is a profession which, traditionally, has recruited from a well-defined demographic. That is changing, with firms like Shoosmiths recognising that it makes better business sense to take advantage of all the talent that exists in every community. Its work upstream, partnering with schools and colleges to provide careers advice, mentoring and work experience, the development of fair and transparent recruitment processes and a commitment to diversity and inclusion in its workforce demonstrate its understanding that opportunity should be open to all.
The Shoosmiths Foundation reflects that ambition to make a difference. Launched in 2021, it aims to help address societal issues, facilitate sustainable change and improve the lives of the people and the environment across the country through grants to UK registered charities undertaking work here. It has three areas of focus including advancing social mobility in the legal sector and across the UK. The Shoosmiths Foundation builds on Shoosmiths’ existing community investment programmes which support local charity partners through staff fundraising and firm donations, staff volunteering and the provision of pro bono legal advice.
In May 2022, the Shoosmiths Foundation announced its latest call for grant applications by UK registered charities. It is seeking applications that:
Relate to the social mobility aim of the Shoosmiths Foundation – to advance social mobility in the legal sector, and across the UK, in line with the Shoosmiths social mobility action plan
Are linked to a Shoosmiths location and relate to areas with lower social mobility prospects
Are for projects that help people into local employment or aim to address specific underrepresentation, for example, directly linking socio-economic background or social mobility prospects with other factors (including ex-military personnel, people with convictions, people experiencing homelessness, long-term unemployed, refugees and characteristics listed in the Equality Act 2010)
The charities End Youth Homelessness and Street League were previous recipients of grants, receiving total grants of £90,000. Funding to End Youth Homelessness will provide employability support from Employability Coaches and help approximately 41 young people back into Employment, Education or Training. Funding to Street League will support 53 unemployed young people in some of the most deprived communities across Leeds and Sheffield to gain the qualifications they need to secure meaningful job opportunities.
The closing date for applications is 5pm on Friday 24 June 2022 and further details including the application form can be found at: https://www.shoosmiths.co.uk/our-responsibility/shoosmiths-foundation
Shoosmiths is also holding a webinar with End Youth Homelessness to discuss its programmes aimed at ending youth homelessness on a national scale as well as its work to help support young vulnerable people into work. It will also be joined by Deliveroo, a Shoosmiths’ client and an End Youth Homelessness charity partner.
Chair of the Purpose Coalition, Rt Hon Justine Greening, said: “A key focus for genuinely purpose-led organisations is the measurement and evaluation of what they are doing, to assess what is working well and whether it is targeted effectively to help those who need support the most. Sharing those insights enables other partners to learn from their experiences and helps drive forward the levelling up agenda across sectors and more widely.
“The best businesses partner with those organisations who have experience and expertise working in our most disadvantaged communities. The work of the Foundation illustrates how this can be a force for good, reaping quantifiable results and delivering change.”
Notes to Editors
1. Social Mobility in Action – The Shoosmiths Foundation and End Youth Homelessness webinar is on Thursday, 9 June 2022 at 10:00 - 10:45. It will be chaired by Shoosmiths consultant and former CEO, Simon Boss, who will be joined by Faye Edmondson from End Youth Homelessness and Megan Stott from Deliveroo. More information on how to register can be found at https://www.shoosmiths.co.uk/insights/webinars/social-mobility-in-action-the-shoosmiths-foundation-and-end-youth-homelessness
