A company has given back after turning “what was an office project” into a meaningful collaboration with communities across the county.
After staff at Support Revolution, an independent third-party support provider for Oracle and SAP, based in Thatcham, learnt they would have to vacate their office, as the business transitioned to a fully remote model following global expansion, they were left with a rather large problem.
All smiles for St Bart’s School as they load up donations
The office contained over 20 years’ worth of miscellaneous objects, from desks, chairs, kitchenware, to computer monitors – and all of it had to go before the space was handed back to landlords.
It meant that in the space of a few months, before waving goodbye to the space, the operations team had to figure out what to do with everything that had accumulated over the years.
Head of operations, Quyen Le, was one of the office project leads, helping to shift the supplies in the office to local organisations in need.
The company named the donation project, ‘Less Landfill, More Goodwill’.
Park House School load up
At first, Ms Le was unsure how to approach the task, so put out feelers on local Facebook groups to see if anyone was interested – and said she was “overwhelmed” by the responses.
“In less than a day over 80 people messaged me, including from schools and various charities.
“I wanted to help as many organisations as possible.”
Over the next few weeks, Ms Le spent her days organising visits and pick-ups from those who needed it most, ranging from schools, to charities and non-profit organisations.
Falkland Surgery enjoys its new set up thanks to Support Revolution
“It was so amazing hearing all the stories from different organisations.
“Resources are actually lacking for a lot of the organisations, so it was really rewarding to help where we could.”
Through the initiative, Ms Le said Support Revolution were “delighted” to have been able to donate to over 18 educational institutions, charities and non-profit organisations in total.
Family support worker at Best Start Family Hub in Thatcham, Becci Smith, said: “The donation has been a massive help as we work confidentially with families and so having appropriate lockable storage has been so helpful.
“Grateful for the donation from you guys, thank you!”
Flag DV received donations
Many local causes were involved, including educational settings: Park House School, Wildflower Meadows in Burghclere, Tigers Day Nurseries, iCollege, Kennet School and St Bart’s School who were all grateful for the resources.
Falkland Surgery (NHS), West Berkshire Therapy Centre, Best Start Family Hub in Thatcham, and domestic abuse charity Flag DV were also the recipients of donations from Support Revolution.
“It was great to help as many people as possible, from what was an office project.
“Any items that were donated to private organisations or individuals, we invited them to make a donation to our chosen charity The Loddon School, who we met through this initiative.”
Computer donations to iCollege
Head of Science at iCollege, Rachel Pocock, said: “We are incredibly grateful to Support Revolution; their generous donation has allowed us to improve essential IT resources despite severe financial constraints.”
The company also chipped in after one of Tigers Day Nursery’s sites was destroyed by a fire, to help them get back on their feet with whatever they needed from what was available, said Ms Le.
Quyen Le with staff from Tigers Nursery receive donations after recovering from a fire which destroyed one of its buildings
A spokesperson for West Berkshire Therapy Centre also thanked the company: “Our centre was very much in need of the items that they kindly made available; their support for local charities is greatly appreciated.”
By the end of the project, Support Revolution had managed to donate 95 per-cent of its belongings to the local and wider community and those in need.
West Berkshire Therapy Centre was ‘very much in need of the items’
“Every last thing went to good use – the desks, chairs, kitchenware, monitors, every mug, every fridge and paperclip went somewhere.
“Everyone’s been really grateful, it’s been overwhelming in the sense of community, everyone has helped each other out.” said Ms Le.