An extension to our Community Connect initiative

At Reed in Partnership, our mission to transform people and their communities goes beyond just the outcomes of the public services we deliver. Through our volunteering initiative, Community Connect, our employees receive three paid days each year to support charities that matter to them and the places they live. The initiative has so far delivered more than 1,900 hours of direct voluntary action for UK charities.

This year, our Directors launched a new extension to our Community Connect commitment - providing specialist Board-level support to grassroots charities that they value.

Each of them has been completing voluntary sessions with their chosen charities, delivering support ranging from leadership mentoring, strategic development, financial planning and project delivery.

Our Operations Director, Shirley Allen and Director of People, Tom Millar, both spent a day with Playskill – a Hertfordshire-based charity that helps children with physical delays or disabilities to develop communication, movement and key life skills.

Shirley said: “It was a privilege to spend the day with this remarkable charity.

“Our goal for the day was to help Playskill evolve their existing three-year strategy into a clear and actionable operational plan. We wanted to help them develop something that would support their growth and strengthen their impact, to ultimately help them continue delivering their life-changing work in the community.

“What made the day truly inspiring was hearing about the dedication, creativity and compassion that drives their organisation. Tom and I were able to see up close the difference they make in the lives of children who rely on specialist play support to develop essential skills and confidence. The team’s passion was clear in every conversation we had.

“While we hope our contribution offered the charity practical value – clarity, structure and new ways to translate ambition into action, it also reminded us why Community Connect matters so deeply. It is our way, as a company, of making meaningful difference, in addition to the impact of our service delivery, directly in the communities we live and work.

“We left Playskill feeling humbled and proud to support a charity doing such exceptional work. We look forward to seeing how their plans continue to develop and hope that in some small way our involvement will help them to grow and make an even greater impact.”

Niki Michael, CEO of Playskill, spoke about the value that Shirley and Tom’s external perspectives and expertise had on the charity’s future planning. Niki said:

“As the leader of a small charity it is very easy to become insular, only listening to voices inside your own organisation or sector which has the effect of creating an echo chamber of similar views. It was so refreshing to have these constructively and empathetically challenged by professionals not familiar with your way of working, allowing us to think more deeply about the 'why.'

“We will genuinely take the learnings, using them to improve some of our processes, allowing us to positively impact our beneficiary group now and into the future.”

Reed in Partnership’s Deputy Operations Director, Nick Morgan, spent his Community Connect day with Boxing Futures, a Peterborough-based charity who engage local young people in non-combat boxing. Nick said:

“I wanted to support Boxing Futures because I have a personal interest in helping young people. I was impressed with what I’d read about their service, and I’d also seen YouTube content of their CEO, Ant York, whose passion for supporting young people in the community was clear.

“Boxing Futures were looking for support around staff recruitment and retention, as well as rolling out their strategy and growth plans to their team.

“We ran a workshop aimed at drawing out discussion, ideas and ultimately actions that Boxing Futures would take forward to support their areas of focus. It was great to work with such an engaged team and be part of such a productive session – Ant and Operations Manager Jamie took away lots of actionable ideas to support their strategic objectives.”

Ant has since been in touch to talk about the impact of the session. He said:

"Community Connect has been great for us a small charity. It was an invaluable day for us, with some essential takeaways - I've already implemented some of the ideas Nick gave us.

"After our time with Nick, we held a full team meeting that was inspired by the day we spent together, and we were able to share many of the learnings we took from the session, especially around communication, values and career pathways.

"I feel there is a renewed optimism going forward."

Further Community Connect sessions with our Directors will take place across 2026. Our long-term aim is to embed specialist volunteering as a sustainable part of Community Connect – helping to strengthen grassroots organisations, building lasting partnerships and ensuring we continue to make a meaningful difference in our local communities.