Work with us

So what are you – a local company, a potential volunteer or maybe someone interested in becoming a committee member? There’s every chance that your local Fairbridge centre needs you.

There is so much going on at Fairbridge – so why not get involved. Your support will make a big difference!

Working in partnership

Merrell

Since December 2006, Fairbridge West has been working with outdoor clothing company, Merrell. Staff from the company’s head office, which is based locally, have been on follow on courses and assisted in various ways around the centre, providing extra support for young people, and an insight for its staff.

Mihajlo Lekic, Operations Manager, Fairbridge:

“Merrell is a very modern company and is very interested in CSR. Their main reason for getting involved with us was to develop their staff and give something back to the local community.

In December 2006 they did a series of survival days which saw their staff work alongside young people in a development programme involving a range of challenging outdoor pursuits.

We had a review and we decided that instead of doing all of their community work in a week, they would come and spread it out over the year.

They have since come to lunches at the centre, given prizes, and they also had a stall at Glastonbury Festival in which they displayed our art and did competitions in order to raise awareness. They also adopted part of the centre building as part of their 'Get Out There' campaign”.

The contact with the staff is great for the young people because they get to interact with young professionals. They are great rolemodels as they all love what they do. They show our young people that work can be fun and something to be proud of.

It’s also very powerful for the staff. They always come back and ask how the young people are and have a lot of new ideas. Companies are always looking to engage their staff beyond the workplace and Fairbridge can provide that 'added vaule'."

Richard Codgbrook, Marketing Manger for Northern Europe, Merrell:

“We wanted to support a charity that was local to us with a national aim. I found about Fairbridge through a friend doing some part time work there, and because it fitted our criteria and focuses on outdoor activities, it was a good match.

Merrell encourages and equips everyone for an outdoor lifestyle, and working with Fairbridge was a good way to promote this and also help people to get out of the urban rat race.

The staff got a hell of a lot out of it. 20 of our 45 employees have so far got involved with it and it has made them realise that there are lot of young people out there who need support.

I think that sometimes we are quick to moan about our own lives, but if we look out on the grand scheme of things, there are a lot of people a lot worse off than us.

I personally saw the attitude of young people change throughout the days. After they had to overcome a challenge their personas completely changed. It was amazing!

We have a good relationship with Fairbridge and are continuing it to support it as our main charity in 2008.”

merrell.co.uk