Judges have described a partnership between a homeless charity and a regional co-operative as ‘inspiring’ as the pair win gold at a national award ceremony.

The Business Charity Awards 2020 celebrates the significant contribution made by companies to UK charities and social enterprises.

Yesterday, via a virtual ceremony, the Society of St James and Southern Co-op were announced as winners of the Short-term Partnership Award.

Judges said it was ‘a strong submission with sizeable impact’ and that ‘both partners should be commended on fantastic and meaningful collaboration’.

The Society of St James and Southern Co-op have been in partnership since early 2019 after colleagues at Southern Co-op’s head office voted for the Society of St James to become their charity partner of the year with a focus on tackling local crime, drug and alcohol addiction, and of course, homelessness.

The first year of partnership was such a success that the partnership has now been extended to 2020/21.

Trevor Pickup, Chief Executive Officer of the Society of St James, said: “We are delighted to have been awarded the Short-term Partnership Business Charity Award alongside our partner Southern Co-op.

“We look forward to making our neighbourhoods even safer through our partnership over the months ahead and bringing more benefits for the staff across both organisations, our service users and the communities in which we operate.”

The partnership has been a mix of skill sharing, volunteering and fundraising, which have provided benefits for both organisations.

Southern Co-op initially focussed on the Society of St James’ social enterprise café, Café in the Park in Portsmouth, helping it to become more self-sustaining. The café provides opportunities for vulnerable adults to build employability skills and grow in confidence to help sustain their independence and recovery.

Together, they launched an idea that had originated from the adults working at the café – Pay It Forward. The initiative has enabled local people to help the homeless through a voucher scheme and, between July 2019 and February 2020, SSJ sold more than 1,400 Pay It Forward vouchers.

Jessica Hughes, Community Investment Manager at Southern Co-op, said: “Our partnership with the Society of St James is a tremendous benefit to both of us as is making a real difference in the community to those who are desperately in need.

“The partnership demonstrates the power of aligning business and societal needs, and working cooperatively together to help tackle them to the benefit of all. We are delighted that this has been recognised in this national award scheme.”

The skills-based volunteering has included marketing and communications, HR and training, and professional advice from property and buying teams.

Plus £11,500 has been raised, £4,250 volunteering hours spent and a further £15,000+ has been pledged.

In the spirit of true partnership, Southern Co-op has also benefited from the collaboration through the expert knowledge the charity has around the subject of homelessness, drug/alcohol misuse and offending behaviour which has informed the development of strategic initiatives for the business.

Michelle Jeffery, Business Development Manager at Society of St James, said: “Winning this award is a real credit to all involved and that is a lot of people.

“The staff from both organisations have truly got behind the initiative and are really embracing the close working and creativity to come out of it”

To find out more about the award and the partnership, visit https://www.thirdsector.co.uk/business-charity-awards-short-term-partnership-%e2%80%93-southern-co-op-society-st-james-love-neighbourhood-safer-neighbourhoods/fundraising/article/1683603.