With a large bulk of our business coming from the Bristol and South West area and many of our employees having grown up here, we are always looking for ways to give something back to the City. So when Caring in Bristol, a local homeless charity, approached us looking for our support for their Caring at Christmas project we jumped at the opportunity. Jamie Smith, a Coordinator for Caring at Christmas, sat down with us to explain the work they do and how Bristol IT Company could help.
The Interview
Q: In brief, what do Caring in Bristol do?
“Caring in Bristol are a local charity committed to empowering the city to solve homelessness. In our aim to prevent homelessness at various stages across various projects we reach out to people experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness, develop the necessary services based on a solid evidence base, and encourage public engagement to create sustainable change in Bristol.”
Q: What is Caring at Christmas?
“The Caring at Christmas is a day and night shelter over the festive season that provides accommodation, warmth, company, activities, and necessary services during an acutely difficult time of the year for those experiencing homelessness. Last year over 700 volunteers helped us provide support hundreds of homeless and vulnerable people in Bristol. We actively try to harness the compassionate ethos of Bristol and provide a wide range of well-being services from local volunteers and organisations.”
Q: Why did you reach out to Bristol IT Company?
“We reached out to Bristol IT Company because they are a local organisation with a sterling reputation in IT support with resources and expertise that can make a positive impact to the project. We needed IT hardware to set up computers for the first time at the project, allowing our guests to access resources, access emails and make administrative applications. Having computers at the project allows us to be able to make a much more sustained positive impact beyond the festive period, which wouldn’t of been possible without the kind collaboration of Bristol IT Company.”
What did Bristol IT Company deliver?
The engineers at Bristol IT Company took time out of their busy days to build 5 Windows 7 Base units with keyboards and mouse and 3 monitors which were brought in to Caring in Bristol for donation.
“It feels great that the ‘spare’ machines we had in the office can be put to use for a really great cause and we’re very happy we could help” James Wade, BITC Support Manager
How you can help
Caring in Bristol are always on the lookout for volunteers to support their cause, especially for their Caring at Christmas project. For more information check out their web page: https://caringinbristol.co.uk/get-involved/volunteer/
