Andy Carter Managing Director of BOM is delighted to announce the continued support of Community of Purpose CIC. “As a People First Company, BOM IT Solutions are incredibly proud to be able to support this great not-for-profit and make a difference to the young people living in Bristol.”
Founded in 2016, Community of Purpose CIC is an award-winning social enterprise that transforms the lives and futures of young people through businesses who act as a force for good. They are passionate about improving the life chances of young people and creating opportunities so they can fulfil their potential. They deliver five impactful programmes that engage hard-to-reach groups, enhance community cohesion and improve social mobility;
Break Free – tackles holiday hunger. Children get free meals in term time, but in the holidays go hungry. Rather than looking forward to the school holidays, the holidays have become for many a stressful time, when families who already struggle find it even harder to provide for their children and young people. Break Free is a holiday activity programme that provides high quality activities and free food for children aged eight – thirteen from areas most in need across South Bristol, nearby to where BOM are located in Hengrove.
Break Free is part of a Bristol wide project called Feeding Bristol. It confronts what has become one of the biggest social issues in modern society in the UK – with many parents of children on free school meals struggling to provide for them during the holiday period.
Community of Purpose works with a range of organisations to deliver fun sports and educational activities for children in the most deprived areas of Bristol. To help tackle the very real issue of holiday hunger, every young person who attends the Break Free programme is provided with breakfast and lunch to ensure they get at least two meals throughout the day.
The aim of the programme is that young people can break free from having nothing to do, break free from their screens and their homes, and break free from being hungry during the school holidays. This is done through sports, arts, music, and drama, with staff from the local area who understand the issues.
Amy Kington CEO of Community of Purpose CIC says, “We’ve been proud to work with BOM for the last 7 years and their investment has enabled us to supercharge our activities and increase our impact. We’re incredibly grateful to Andy and the team for their long-term support. Bristol is a better place thanks to Bristolians and businesses like them.”
BOM sponsors the Community Of Purpose Van (Cover image) which you will see ferrying Children around Bristol City. The Van is a key resource for the initiatives.
Other Community of Purpose initiatives:
The Bristol Young Heroes Awards & Purposeful Pathways – For many years BOM sponsored the “Young Carers Award”. More information can be found here. – These awards recognise and celebrate the valuable contributions that Bristol’s young people make to the city, particularly those who have overcome difficult circumstances. The awards culminate in a special gala awards night for the young people and their family and friends to enjoy, supported by a host of local celebrities, businesses, and political leaders. Young people are supported for 12 months post awards to ensure they get the right support and opportunities to fulfil their potential.
Bristol Together Championships & Bristol2Bordeaux – This is an annual sporting tournament working with The Bristol Mayor’s Office, which pulls together primary schools from across the city, representing the diverse communities that makeup Bristol and its surrounding areas. The hugely popular programme encourages children to connect and build friendships across the perceived divides through football. It helps community cohesion by getting boys and girls crossing the race, class, geographical and faith boundaries that characterise life in the city. Six fortunate schools get to travel to Bordeaux as part of the cities twinning relationship, for many, this is the first time out of the city and on a plane.
Get Involved
If you’d like more information on supporting Community of Purpose as a business please contact the CEO Amy Kington here.
Learn more about Community of Purpose: https://communityofpurpose.com/
The Bristol Together Championships: https://communityofpurpose.com/projects/bristol-together-championships/
Donate: https://communityofpurpose.com/donate/
