International Day of Charity: Giving Something Back to My Sisters Place

International Day of Charity: Giving Something Back to My Sisters Place

Throughout each year, Vianet gives something back in a way that has the potential to have a positive impact in the wider community. For our Giving Something Back campaign this year we have been raising funds for My Sisters Place Middlesbrough, our chosen charity, delivering fundraising and support to their cause.

Who are My Sisters Place?

My Sisters Place is an independent specialist ‘One Stop Shop’ for women aged 16 or over and have experienced or are experiencing domestic violence. Established in 2002 in Middlesbrough, the charity is committed to working in partnership to tackle domestic violence.

Their approach is rooted in an understanding of the gendered nature of violence against women and girls, and recognises the way intersecting factors such as age, ethnicity, sexuality, and disability can affect women’s experiences and the journey through recovery. Women and children have a right to live free from all forms of violence and abuse, and society has a duty to recognise and defend this right. My Sister’s Place takes this responsibility seriously and works with a wide range of partners to generate the best outcomes for women and children.

Raising Funds for our Chosen Charity

So far in 2022, Vianet have held several fundraisers for the charity including voucher and ticket raffles, football sweepstakes, cake sales, and an office tuck shop. As well as these smaller fundraisers, six of our employees took part in this year’s Tough Mudder 10k race, raising a whooping £2650.

The first 3 fundraisers we carried out totalling £500 were paid to the charity during ‘The Big Give’, a fund matching initiative whereby for every pound donated, the charity will match funds through their platform for the selected cause. This has meant they received further funding to double the sum for them – add this extra £500 to the total, and we have raised £3,852.94 so far. 

Giving Something Back through Community Support

My Sisters Place runs a Community Ambassador ‘Ask Me’ Scheme and they offered to deliver training to any Vianet employees interested in becoming an ambassador back in April 2022. The scheme is designed to equip everyday people with an understanding of domestic abuse and how to respond to survivors thereby enabling the community to play an active role in ending domestic abuse. 10 of Vianet’s employees volunteered to take part and during training, delegates learnt about domestic abuse, how to challenge the stereotypes surrounding it and how to listen to, believe and direct survivors to specialist support.

Following training, ambassadors are given resources and support to share what they have learned with those around them, in ways that feel most comfortable to them. They are encouraged to start conversations about domestic abuse that will help others to better understand the barriers that survivors face in speaking out. My Sisters Place will also keep in touch with opportunities and events such as meet-ups, campaigns and volunteering so that ambassadors can be involved as much or as little as they are able to commit to.

Vianet recognise the importance of having qualified Mental Health First Aiders within an organisation  and as part of the support offering to My Sisters Place, they were able to deliver a Mental Health First Aid training course to 5 employees from My Sisters Place. This has given them each the FAA Level 3 award in Supervising First Aid for Mental Health, equipping them with skills and knowledge to identify and deal with mental health matters that arise whilst delivering their service.

In addition to the support Vianet employees offered each other through training and giving back to the community, we have donated several computer tablets after our engineers had theirs replaced, and donated a selection of Easter eggs at Easter for families supported by the charity. Moreover, we have been able to also link them up with a local landscaping company (ATM Limited), who have completed a garden make-over for the charity, free of charge.

What’s Next?

Over the next couple of months, Vianet will be continuing to raise funds with a Bungee Jump in Whitby on the 1st October (to support with a donation, please visit here), and a Family Quiz/Games Night for employees and their families and friends to take part in on 8th October.

Keep checking back on our social media for the latest!