At the heart of every community is the people in it. Here at Social Progress we know that communities are built from collaboration, support and, most importantly, building valuable relationships.
It’s these connections and relationships that mean everyone has the ability to thrive! And today, being part of a community has never been more important.
More than simply bringing like-minded people together, communities help local businesses and organisations to grow. If you’re thinking about ways to get more involved in your local community, we’re highlighting some of the ways Social Progress supports our local community, to give you some inspiration on how you can support and build yours!
Does your community have a business association? Get involved!
Lots of communities have their own business association, and here in Honley, where Social Progress is based, is no different!
We are active members of Honley Business Association, which has well over 100 members – we’re extremely lucky to be able to support such a diverse range of independent businesses and community groups that exist right on our doorstep!
Here at Social Progress, we understand that when communities thrive, so too do the businesses, organisations and people within it, so we’re happy to support other businesses and organisations via our local business association. We also understand that building valuable working relationships with these organisations means support in return, and as a small, independent business we’re eternally grateful for this.
Support the development of young people
Being local to Huddersfield, we’re supporters of both Huddersfield Town and Huddersfield Giants. Because of this, we’re actively involved with Huddersfield Giants Community Trust, and love everything they stand for.
HGCT empower and encourage the development of young people through not only sport, but community engagement and enterprise. They invest time, funds and energy in building a strong community of young people, in order to grow the support and work Huddersfield Giants are able to do as part of their outreach programs, and Social Progress are proud to be ‘Friends of the Trust’.
As ‘Friends of the Trust’ we have: taken part in the NCS Programme, sponsored a board on one of the pitches, made use of the training facilities, and our team have even enjoyed the use of their rainbow slide at their venue, The Zone!
Support your network of local businesses
Do you have a Chamber of Commerce where you live? Here in Huddersfield, where Social Progress is based, we are members of the Mid Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce.
The purpose of the Mid Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce is to drive growth among businesses of all sizes across Kirklees, Calderdale and Wakefield, by providing relevant and valuable support and benefits. Members are also encouraged to support one another within this network of businesses, through the services they offer, which we of course do regularly as well as benefitting from the support of others.
An additional part to the relationship we have built with our local Chamber of Commerce, means that we are official partners of ‘MY Network’ – an informal business networking event that happens monthly at a local venue, and is completely free to everyone attending. It’s important to us to be part of MY Network, and facilitate the opportunity for other businesses to network and grow, much like how Social Progress first started out!
Support local charities whose causes you feel passionately about!
Here at Social Progress we are proud members of the Laura Crane Youth Cancer Trust ‘Fight Club’.
LCYCT is based in Huddersfield, but works across the UK to provide world-class research into cancers affecting 13-24 year olds as well as supporting thousands of teen and adolescent cancer patients during their battle. The team at LCYCT think outside the box when it comes to their fundraising efforts and raising awareness around what they do, and we LOVE how they work, as well as the passion they put in to the work they do – it’s what makes them so great.
Here at Social Progress we regularly support their vital work fighting against cancer in young people, by sharing their news and social media posts, attending their events, and of course raising money for a vital cause.
Offering Big Screen Social Free to Charitable Organisations
Through all our work supporting local charities and organisations, we know how difficult it can be as a charitable organisation to achieve maximum effect, but on a shoestring budget, and we want to be able to do more to help.
Did you know that one of the services we offer here at Social Progress is our Twitter wall, Big Screen Social? And now, it’s completely FREE for charities to use!
Do you have a charity ball, conference or celebration coming up? Big Screen Social is the perfect tool to engage and grow the audience for your event, and add that little extra something to the day’s proceedings. The least we can do is give this valuable tool to charitable organisations for free, so do visit the Big Screen Social website if you’d like to take us up on the offer!
Think Local
We’re not saying that big business and corporations are always bad, but what we ARE saying is that if and when you can support a local business and organisation – do!
Eat local, shop local, attend local events: the people who live, work and thrive in your local community will be impacted, and be thankful for the support you give, we promise. It’s the people that matter.
As you can see, Social Progress is proud to support our local community, in a whole host of ways, but if you think of more we could be doing, then do let us know in the comments or via our social media channels.