Origin Workspace - Charity Report Vol 1

ORIGIN WORKSPACE CHARITY REPORT VOLUME ONE

CREATING OPPORTUNITIES. SUPPORTING CHARITIES.

ABOUT US

Origin Workspace Established in 2019, Origin Workspace is a co-working space, home to over 140 organisations and 700 active members.

“Origin Workspace provides support and funding to charities and organisations in Bristol that help give young people the skills and resources they need to create a brighter future for themselves, and make a positive contribution to their communities.

We also support charities that are involved in supporting mental health and well-being.”

Managing Director

Rob Hingston

“As a co-working space, we are all about creating a community of collaboration, and it’s fantastic to see how our staff and members embrace this by going out of their way to support our charity partners.

From taking part in sponsored challenges, to gifting their time and expertise to young entrepreneurs and taking part in volunteer days, we are fortunate to have such an active and passionate community.” [ Rob Hingston, Managing Director ]

“But it also goes beyond this: through our gifted space and Charity Desk Programme, our partners gain access to connections and contacts which fuel their success. The young people they support get to experience professional environments, helping to break down barriers and equip them with valuable skills.

Founder

Over the years, we have gradually deepened our collaborations with charities supporting causes close to our hearts and expanded to partner with other networks that share our goals. This report provides a glimpse into what the Origin Workspace community have achieved so far, as well as providing inspiration for the future.”

Heather Frankham

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Our contribution so far ȍ Over £10,000 in sponsorship through sporting events raised for Access Sport, Gympanzees, Princes Trust and Talk Club ȍ £35,000 in grants and donations

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ȍ Gifted spaced valued as £13,000 including reduced desk costs and event space for charities ȍ Over 100 young people have been introduced to Origin Workspace and the world of work through collaboration with South Bristol Youth, Youth Moves, Princes Trust and school partnerships ȍ Staff and members have taken part in several volunteer days across the year totalling to over 300+ volunteered hours ȍ Monthly Business Leaders lunches have meant 6 charities have been introduced to 71 Business Leaders

06 01 Access Sport - Volunteer day 02 Business Leaders Lunch 03 Charity Netball Tournament 04 Prince’s Trust Partnership Launch 05 Charity Golf Day 06 Access Sport Litterpicking Day 07 Gympanzees - Three Peaks Challenge 08 Access Sport - Sponsored TMW Cycle

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Gympanzees are on a mission – a mission to open up a world of fun and fitness for all disabled children. Through Pop Up sessions they provide fully inclusive leisure facilities to provide children and young people with access to gyms, trampolining, music rooms, calm

and active sensory spaces and much more. Following the success of these sessions the charity will be opening the UK’s first permanent fully inclusive exercise and play centre which will be able to welcome 200,000 visitors per year.

“Our aim was always this centre, which meant we had to grow rapidly. We’ve had to get out into the business community to potential donors and supporters, and having a base at Origin Workspace has really enabled us to make connections and demonstrate credibility.

an entire table at our charity ball helping to raise over £80,000, and assembling a team for our Three Peaks Challenge.

Origin Workspace manages to maintain a start-up mentality; always thinking about how they can help further – like booking out

There’s no doubt that Origin’s support has been crucial to our journey so far, and will continue to be as we look ahead to opening up our centre in 2026.”

[Steph Wheen, CEO and Founder, Gympanzees]

Our contribution so far Origin Workspace – Start up programme When we opened our doors, we also opened doors for small organisations. We set up a start-up program where businesses pitched to be a part of the programme. We are proud to see that one of our start-ups, Gympanzees, is continuing to grow and impact so many families’ lives across the UK.

The Three Peaks Challenge Our staff joined Active8 and Bamber Education employees to climb Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowden within 24 hours.

The team raised a total of £2,500 which was matched by Origin Workspace, bringing the total to £5,000.

Gympanzees’ Ball Every year, our team host a table at the Gympanzees’ ball, inviting a number of members to hear updates about the charity’s work, and contribute via a charity auction.

Volunteer Days From providing café services, to admin support, our members and staff have taken part in volunteer opportunities during Gympanzees’ summer pop-up gyms.

Gifting Event Space Over the years, it has been fantastic to witness Gympanzees’ growth and development, and to celebrate their accomplishments with them. For the past two years, we have hosted the Gympanzees’ Christmas event.

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Access Sport are on a mission to make inclusion the norm in community sports. They train, equip and support community sports clubs, organisations and volunteers to provide inclusive programmes and transform lives. They are a national charity with a Bristol team, and partnering with businesses helps their work around disability and social inclusion reach wider audiences and support more of Bristol’s children and young people to take part in local sport.

The Access Sport Bristol Team has been based at Origin Workspace since 2022 through our Charity Desk Programme, and Managing Director of Origin Workspace Rob Hingston sits on their Bristol Steering Committee, providing support with local fundraising. Multiple Origin Workspace members have also provided support to Access Sport over the years, including volunteering days and events such as the TMW cycle tour, which saw 60 employees cycle 160 miles over 3 days, all to raise funds for Access Sport.

“A huge thank you to Origin Workspace for all of their support helping to make our local work in Bristol possible. We have two parts to our work in Bristol – one is around disability inclusion and the other is around social inclusion, with a big focus on cycling.

If there is a club in Bristol that wants to be more inclusive, we will support them to create new offers and help market them to the right people.” [ Helen Rowbotham, CEO ]

Our contribution so far Volunteer Days From litter picking to washing graffiti off walls, our staff and members have worked closely with Access Sport to help maintain the tracks and equipment the charity provides for young people in Bristol at volunteering days throughout the year.

Bristol Steering Committee Our Managing Director Rob has been a member of the Bristol Steering Committee since 2021. He has facilitated connections, shared ideas for fundraising events and set up celebration events to help raise awareness.

Hosting events We have successfully organised two “An Evening with Access Sport” events to help the charity to raise their profile, providing gifted space for the events and supporting with marketing.

Building connections that lead to fundraising events Origin Workspace hosts networking events to help our charities and members build meaningful relationships and explore opportunities. For example, during Summer 2023, Origin Workspace members TMW raised funds for Access Sport, cycling over 160 miles.

We host monthly business leaders’ lunches, inviting business leaders based at Origin Workspace to lunch with one of our charity partners. Following one of these lunches, the idea of the Access Sports Golf Day was born, with Origin Workspace funding the day and donations and auction prizes gifted to Access Sport.

Our members and team also represented Access Sport in this year’s Mixed Netball Charity Festival, finishing third in the tournament.

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South Bristol Youth (SBY) was founded in 2011 to help young people in the area achieve their very best at school by working collaboratively with schools, families and the

local community.

The area has one of the lowest participation rates in higher education in the region and SBY is working alongside the local universities to help remedy this.

SBY works with approximately 1500 young people a year, mentoring and guiding them by running programmes that provide the skills, knowledge, and confidence to help better understand pathways to apprenticeships, higher

education, and high-quality employment.

Our members have supported SBY through mock interview practice sessions and presented to groups of young people to highlight potential career paths.

“In the 9 months since I started working at Origin Workspace, I’ve been involved with Princes Trust, South Bristol Youth and Access Sport, supporting with initiatives like activity days and mock interviews for 14-15 year olds.

Having grown up in Knowle, giving some of my time to support young people in the area where I grew up is hugely rewarding. For a small business like mine, having access to local charities via Origin Workspace’s partnerships is so valuable.” [ David Brassington, DCB Services, Origin Workspace Member ]

Our contribution so far Bringing children to experience the workplace It can be challenging for students to find work experience, so to provide an alternative insight into life in the workplace, we organised a Mock Interview day.

SBY brought 20 students to Origin Workspace, where they could have the experience of a ‘real’ interview in a professional environment. The students

were guided by our staff and employees from Clean Bees, Bamber Education, Beach Baker, DCB Services, and Hunter Healthcare in 5-minute interview sessions.

Hosting an Awards Ceremony We have gifted our presentation suite to the team at SBY for an awards ceremony, which included a tour of the space and a talk from our Managing Director, Rob Hingston.

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The Prince’s Trust is the leading youth charity in the UK, providing funding and support for young people since the 1970’s. The Trust’s ethos fits perfectly with ours, as we share a focus on enabling tomorrow’s business talent to succeed through collaboration and connection.

The Prince’s Trust was the first charity Origin Workspace collaborated with back in 2018, and the partnership has gone from strength to strength. Early in 2023, Origin Workspace launched our 3-year partnership to support their Enterprise Programme, which provides workshops, mentoring and financial support to young entrepreneurs to help them to achieve their dreams.

As part of our partnership, we provide donations, free access to workspace for local young people on the scheme and event support.

Our team have also provided support to the Million Makers scheme, sitting on a Dragons’ Den-style panel of experts to help young people working with the Prince’s Trust to improve their business skills.

“I am delighted to be involved in a charity that supports people getting started in life. It is particularly rewarding to be involved in The Prince’s Trust’s enterprise scheme which gives young adults the opportunity to make their business ideas happen.” [ Rob Hingston - Managing Director ]

Our contribution so far Bristol 10k and Half Marathon Every year, Origin Workspace staff and members raise funds for the Prince’s Trust at the Bristol 10k and Half Marathon If you ever spot a group of people running the race in bright orange t-shirts – that’s us, you can’t miss us.

Branded T-shirts We frequently participate in local sporting events like the 5k Park Run, Netball tournaments, and tag rugby matches, wearing Origin Workspace branded t-shirts which feature the Prince’s Trust logo, increasing brand awareness.

Attending events The team at Origin Workspace participate in Prince’s Trust events such as the Red Dinner and Charity Awards Ceremony, building connections and finding out how we can contribute more.

Hosting events We love sharing our beautiful space with our charity partners. We gifted our presentation suite and lounge area to the first Prince’s Trust Art Exhibition in Bristol, allowing local young artists to share and sell their work.

Donating our time Rob, the Managing Director of Origin Workspace, participated in the Prince’s Trust Million Makers Dragons’ Den programme, which provides young people with a platform to share business ideas with established leaders.

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Talk Club is a peer-to-peer support talking group and mental fitness community. Founded in 2019 by 6 passionate Bristolians and now operating across the world, Talk Club now has over 70 groups and over 3000 members. Through the clubs sport and activity-focused groups, Talk Club helps men to keep mentally fit while creating a community that promotes regularly checking in with yourself and others.

Mental and physical well-being are a passion for many Origin Workspace members, so supporting Talk Club has always felt like a natural fit. As well as providing branded running kits and meeting spaces, in Autumn 2023 Origin

Workspace facilitated an event to increase awareness of Talk Club’s work and the impact their sessions have had on men in Bristol and beyond, as well as their families and wider communities.

“Part of the beauty of the Talk Club format is how flexible we can be, and Origin Workspace have enabled that with their support: providing meeting spaces, networking opportunities or encouraging members to raise funds through sporting challenges. We’re happy to have found the Origin Workspace team and to have them backing us.” [ Tom Watson, Talk Club Co-Founder ]

Origin Workspace organised the first “An Evening with Talk Club” event to raise awareness of Talk Club’s work helping men build mental fitness. We gifted space and supported with videography and photography for their social media platforms and website.

To generate awareness of Talk Club and their passion for the power of sport and fitness, we gifted sports t-shirts for their captains and service users to wear.

Support goes beyond the four walls at Origin Workspace. It was a proud moment for us to witness our members participating in a Christmas carol campaign organised by Talk Club. The campaign caught the attention of well-known boxer Tyson Fury, bringing additional attention to Talk Club’s vision and values.

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Youth Moves and Grassroots Communities joined Origin Workspace as charity partners in 2023, and as such our partnerships are just beginning…

Grassroot Communities is a community-based, non-profit organisation that empowers young people and communities to thrive through dedicated youth and community work.

They design their programmes based on community needs, analysis and consultation.

They support young people with access to education, youth work, training, employment opportunities, and mentoring.

Youth Moves is here for the young people of South Bristol. As a youth-driven charity, the charity delivers the best for young people through its outstanding youth work.

They help and encourage individuals to live their best lives to feel safe and to be themselves, to be happy and have fun, to grow and be confident. They give young people a voice and make sure they’re heard.

Our growing contribution We are excited to have added Youth Moves and Grassroot Communities to our list of supported charities during 2023. In addition to providing them with space and desks, we have also invited them to participate in our monthly Member’s Happy Hour and to network with our Origin Workspace members during our Business Leader’s Lunches.

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OTHER CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTIONS A friendly giant awaits on one of our roof terraces

The first Bristol Youth Alliance Event

Origin Workspace is the home to a Gromit! Located on our front roof terrace with a rather large cup of tea, the proceeds from this Gromit were donated to Bristol Children’s Hospital.

The first Bristol Youth Alliance Event was hosted by Origin Workspace. The event was a celebration of the hard work of children’s charities across the South West, and served as a plea to business owners to support this cause. We donated marketing materials, provided our event space, catering services, as well as offering photography and videography services.

Supporting Young People Legacy is a global campaign by Common Purpose which invests in young people across the world, helping them to become a connected generation of leaders. Origin Workspace has donated £5,000 to the programme in 2023.

Smaller fundraising events at Origin Workspace Annually, staff and members of Origin Workspace fundraise for the Christmas Jumper Day campaign in aid of Save The Children. Origin Workspace staff raised funds by wearing pink

for the Wear it Pink campaign run by the Breast Cancer Now charity.

Our MD Rob and Origin Workspace members have taken part in the Bristol Bears Foundation tag rugby competition to support the Community Foundation’s life-changing programmes.

Sporting fundraising events are part of Origin Workspace’s DNA, and every Christmas we have a sponsored Santa Run, raising funds for the Children’s Hospice South West.

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FIND OUT MORE ABOUT WHAT WE DO....

0117 440 0400 I info@originworkspace.co.uk I originworkspace.co.uk 40 Berkeley Square, Bristol, BS8 1HP.