After a trial reopening through August, Smart Works Greater Manchester is now fully back in business delivering face to face client appointments from its centre in Stockport.
During lockdown, we have delivered over 100 appointments supporting unemployed women across Greater Manchester via online Coaching Sessions and sending out clothing packages to them in the post. The online service will continue for those who are unable to visit in person and run alongside the face to face styling and dressing service.
We received a grant from the Manchester Airport Community Trust Fund to help with the costs of getting our centre ready for reopening, funding additional tech, protective screens and other necessary equipment to help ensure we provide a safe and welcoming environment.
Alison Lever, Treasurer of Smart Works Greater Manchester, said “We have really valued the support we have received from the Manchester Airport Community Trust Fund, it came at just the right time with more women having lost their jobs due to Covid-19. This grant has facilitated the purchase of all of the essential equipment that we needed to create a safe environment for our clients, volunteers and staff”.
Jan Iceton, Chair of Smart Works Greater Manchester, said: “The sheer volume of women the charity has supported in the last five years demonstrates the need for a service like ours across the 10 Boroughs of Greater Manchester and the wider North West region. We encourage all women who have an interview lined up to reach out to us through the many referral partners we work with, from organisations such as Job Centre Plus and Ingeus, to other women’s organisations and charities. We can, and we will, help the region get back in its feet after Covid”.
Karen Smart, Managing Director at Manchester Airport, said: “For more than 20 years our Community Trust Fund has provided vital support to organisations across the region.
During the pandemic it was great we could use the fund to support a range of organisations’ Covid-19 relief efforts. It’s therefore extremely pleasing to see the benefit come to fruition for Smart Works Greater Manchester.”
About the Manchester Airport Community Trust Fund: Each year, Manchester Airport donates more than £100,000 to the Community Trust Fund, as well as the income it receives from fines levied on aircraft exceeding noise limits when operating out of the airport.
Started in 1997, The Manchester Airport Community Fund has donated more than £3.6m to over 1,600 local community, social and environmental groups in Greater Manchester and Cheshire.
The Community Trust Fund award grants to a maximum of £3,000 meetings are held quarterly to award the funding. Local groups within a 10mile radius of the airport can apply for funding online by 29 November 2020 before the next meeting. For more information and to check eligibility, visit www.manchesterairport.co.uk/CommunityTrustFund