Tim, Corporate Partnerships Manager
This diary was written in August 2020.
7:45am I realised early on in lockdown that I needed to get into a good daily routine, so since March my working day has always started at this time! As the Corporate Partnerships Manager at Sobell House no two days are ever the same and that has been even more apparent over the past few months. The first thing I do sat at my desk at home is check my emails and write my action list for the day. I find that helps.
9:00am We are always looking for new business partnerships and today I have a phone call to chat to a fairly new local business who are keen to engage with us. They are very aware of the work Sobell House does in the community and wanted to discuss the different ways they can partner with us. As a charity we receive many benefits from our corporate supporters financially, and also through gifts in kind, volunteering and sponsorship. But equally our corporate supporters gain so much too, and I was really pleased to talk about that this morning.
10:30am I have just arrived in Yarnton to meet Jonathan Fraser of Fraser’s Budgens, who are longstanding corporate supporters of the hospice. Through their petrol station and supermarket in Yarnton they’ve raised over £20,000, and one of the main ways they’ve fundraised is by having coin collection boxes on their counters. Jonathan has agreed to trial one of our Tap to Donate contactless boxes as an easier way for customers to donate. The team at Fraser’s Budgens are really pleased to be involved in this new initiative and we install the machine alongside a poster asking customers to Tap to Donate £3. I then take a quick picture for us to post on our social media channels, and ask others businesses if they would like to get involved too.
12:00pm On my way back, I call in at IP Asset Partnership in Summertown to drop off their Sobell Business Club certificate. We launched our Business Club in March and to date we have 16 members. We offer Silver and Gold membership and it’s a really great way for local businesses to partner with Sobell House in a closer way.
1:00pm I arrive back home in time for a Zoom call. I used to associate the word ‘Zoom’ with Fat Larry’s Band and that great line – ‘Zoom, just one look and then my heart went boom’. They don’t write songs like that anymore… thankfully I hear my kids say! Nowadays Zoom has taken on a new meaning and a new way to work. This afternoon I meet with Lorraine, our Head of Fundraising, where we speak about some projects I’ve been working on and have a general wellbeing chat. Not quite sure how we’ve achieved it, but led by Lorraine the charity team have really come together over the past few months, and these regular meetings on Zoom have been a big part of that.
2:00pm Over the past 18 months I have become more active on LinkedIn and Twitter which were a real lifeline when lockdown started. I am well known in the office for not having the best technical ability, but if shown clearly (and slowly!) I get to grips with it. And that is very true of social media, which has been a great way to connect with people across my local community. I have been writing a series of blogs as a way of communicating what I, and we, do at Sobell House, and my job this afternoon is to write my next blog. By just after 3:00pm I am happy with what I have put together so I email it across to my colleague Maddie to proofread, sense check and edit. It’s then shared on both my personal LinkedIn page and the Sobell House page.
4:00pm For the past few months I have been working with Meze Publishing based in Sheffield to produce a Sobell House Cookbook. As a big foodie I have loved this project! Today, I have a phone call with Phil Turner from Meze to touch base and find out where we are with everything. Meze have been great to work with and together we are going to produce a wonderful book filled with delicious recipes from popular local eateries and food businesses. There will even be recipe features from some very famous faces too. Food and Kindness – The Sobell House Cookbook will be available online and in all good local book shops later this year!
5:00pm I spend the last half hour or so finishing off some jobs and seeing what I have on tomorrow. I also check back on LinkedIn to find out how my blog post is doing and I’m pleased to see it’s been liked and shared and there are some lovely comments to reply to. My wife Juliet pops her head round the door asking if I know I am taking Sam (my son) to cricket? Yes, but I didn’t realise the time, so I log off for the day!
This has been a typical working day for me and I’m pleased to be able to start meeting people (from a distance!) a bit more. I love what I do and have very much thrown myself into new projects and ways of working since the world turned upside down earlier this year. Life is very busy but most of the time great fun. It’s brilliant to do a job I enjoy and it’s wonderful to see acts of kindness every day, with so many people wanting to support others.
