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Charles Russell Speechlys Celebrates Nine Year Partnership with Community Foundation for Surrey
This year, Charles Russell Speechlys is marking a nine-year partnership with the Community Foundation for Surrey, which has resulted in the Guildford CRS Community Fund providing grants of £112,094 to support 20,108 beneficiaries in Surrey.
Charles Russell Speechlys set up the Fund in 2016, administered by the Community Foundation for Surrey, to provide donations to support local charities and organisations, with a particular emphasis on helping disadvantaged groups develop skills and gain access to new opportunities. The Fund is a key element of the firm’s social impact programme, which also involves staff volunteering and offering pro bono support to grant recipients - all with a view to developing lasting relationships with organisations driving positive social change. In fact, over the last 12 months, fee earners from Charles Russell Speechlys’ Guildford office have dedicated a total of 1,143 pro bono hours to charity work.
Sally Ashford, Partner and Head of the Guildford office at Charles Russell Speechlys said, “As a leading law firm advising charities and individuals on their philanthropic interests, we wanted to establish our own charitable initiative and support small charities and local community projects in and around Guildford. The Community Foundation for Surrey has been a fantastic partner in helping us to achieve these aims, enabling us to make a positive social impact in our local community. It has been a real privilege to have been able to support so many inspiring projects over the last nine years. It has also been extremely rewarding for so many of our team members to get involved with this programme.”
A volunteer panel from Charles Russell Speechlys in Guildford, consisting of lawyers (from partners to trainees) and support staff meets each quarter to evaluate and award grants. All employees at Charles Russell Speechlys are encouraged to give their time to volunteer. Very often, they choose to support charities which have been awarded grants from the CRS Community Fund – and help by providing practical support such as painting, gardening and pro bono advice. Over the last nine years, grant recipients have included Skillway, ReSkilled, Challengers, The Bike Project, Home-Start Guildford and Guildford Town Centre Chaplaincy: Street Angels.
The Guildford CRS Community Fund is part of, and aligned with, the firm’s wider social impact programme, which focuses on three key areas – access to justice, building strategic charity partnerships and access to opportunity.
In 2020, Charles Russell Speechlys launched the CRS Foundation, a registered charity which receives donations from the firm for grants that advance justice. Since its inception, the CRS Foundation has provided the funds for the Guildford CRS Community Fund.
Zoe Coltart, Fund Development Manager, Community Foundation for Surrey added, “We’re incredibly grateful for the continued support from Charles Russell Speechlys and the Charles Russell Speechlys Foundation. Their long-standing commitment to community projects in Surrey has had a real and lasting impact. Thanks to their generous grants, local initiatives have been able to grow, reach more people, and provide much-needed support where it’s most needed. They really care about making a difference in the community, and their support means so much."
Home-Start UK and Home-Start Guildford
Home-Start Guildford is a registered independent charity affiliated to Home-Start UK which provides a range of home-based and community-based services to support vulnerable families who have a child or children under the age of 6. In particular, the charity supports local families living with pressures such as poverty, debt, unemployment and mental health issues, and provides practical help to around 150 families in Guildford each year.
Last year, a grant of £7,594 from the Guildford CRS Community Fund was given to Home-Start Guildford to fund a Home-Start Family Support Group in Bellfields and Slyfield for families with pre-school children. These Support Groups have helped to improve parenting skills, strengthen parent/child relationships, create positive play opportunities, and ultimately enhance children’s life chances.
Awarding funding to Home-Start Guildford felt particularly worthwhile as Charles Russell Speechlys’ Guildford office had been supporting the charity for a number of years in various capacities. Last Christmas, for example, a team at Charles Russell Speechlys prepared 48 hampers of games, books and food to help support local families in the area, having donated 45 Christmas hampers in 2023.
One team member, who has volunteered for Home-Start Guildford by supporting two local families, said, “I was able to see first-hand how regular support is very beneficial to a family facing challenges.”
In 2023, the firm’s local relationship with Home-Start Guildford extended to a national one, as Charles Russell Speechlys (UK) chose Home-Start UK to be one of its national charity partners. Part of that relationship included offering pro bono advice on a range of legal issues including reviewing grant agreements and delivering legal education workshops on wills, legacies and probate, charities law and data protection. In addition, Charles Russell Speechlys’ Marketing and IT teams shared knowledge and skills with the HomeStart UK team, enabling the organisation to save money on social media training and alleviate organisation-wide challenges.
Charles Russell Speechlys’ Guildford office continues to maintain a relationship with Home-Start Guildford, and is planning to put together more Christmas hampers this year. For further information about Home-Start Guildford, please visit www.hsguildford.org.uk.
