We like to involve the whole company in our projects and as such we invited Quintessentially staff to attend one of our charity’s ‘Open Mornings’ at a local school. Lindsay Davis, who currently heads our global development team had this to say about her experience:
“I spent my morning at Gallions Mount Primary School in Plumstead experiencing the positive, impactful and emotional effects of Quintessentially Foundation through Place2Be.
The children sang two lovely songs for us – one a Bette Midler classic – and had huge smiles on their faces with the thunderous applause that followed from the audience.
Then the many passionate volunteers and staff discussed the impact of Place2Be for supporting children in the school.
But here are what I found to be the two most impactful moments of the day:
A mother stood up and told us how her partner committed suicide. She then shared the impact this had on her relationship with her daughter and in turn, the impact this had on her daughter’s behaviour, emotional well-being and education. A Place2Be counselled both mother and daughter and within a few months, the mother felt as though she could be a mother again, prioritizing her daughter’s needs and emotions and progressing her personal grieving process. For her daughter, weekly consistent visits with Sue, her counsellor, and working through art therapy and having A Place2Talk, she also started doing better in school and her relationship with her mother improved dramatically. They are getting better every day.
One of the Place2Be staff asked a group of nine children “What you do if there was no Place2Be?” The responses:
“I would cry.”
“I would feel sad.”
“I would feel like no one cared.”
“I do not know who I would talk to about my feelings.”
This brings to life why Q Foundation does what it does and why employee engagement in our fundraising opportunities is critical in helping for a brighter future for children.
If you are a quantitative person:
£6 donated supports one A Place2Talk counselling session for one child.
~£385 donated supports one child through the A Place2Be program annually.
When asked if the children had any questions for the audience, one little girl asked “What was it like in the olden days when you were in school and did not have A Place2Be?”. The kids could not fathom life without A Place2Be as much I could not fathom being considered a person who knows what it was like ‘in the olden days’. But happily that is who I am now – someone who experienced the ‘olden days’ and can now make things better in the future for kids.
The next time the opportunity arises to visit a school with Place2Be, I highly recommend it.
And keep up the great work with Q Foundation! I promise, as I saw it first-hand today, it makes a HUGE difference!!!
Lindsay”
