Marketing Stockport member gives Pro bono work to Together Trust

Sallyann Betts from the Rowan Consultancy has given 3 days Pro Bono work to fellow Marketing Stockport member Together Trust to help set up and launch their work-ready initiatives for the children at their Inscape School.

The Cheadle based charity are focusing on developing a range of ‘in’ projects to provide an opportunity for their students to gain valuable work experience on their own campus.

The opening of inCafe, where the children are responsible for all aspects of running the café, is the first of their initiatives to launch.

It sits alongside the development of InConfection, where the children have responsibility for the packing and distribution of Charity sweets to their charity partners, and InCreative promoting the children’s artwork.

Sallyann specialises in Business and Marketing Strategy, through research and analysis to delivery, and was able to provide tools and processes to help launch each of the initiatives comprehensively planned and professionally delivered.

Sallyann, who plans to continue her support of The Together Trust throughout the year when time allows said: “I expected the pro bono work with The Together Trust to be about me ‘giving something back’, but in reality I came away having gained as much as I gave through a real insight into the lives of the children and the work of the school.

“It was an enriching experience all round”.

Anne Price, Head Teacher at Inscape House School, said, “Our pupils with autism spectrum conditions have some very valuable skills which can be applied in the workplace.

“Many of our students have associated difficulties to do with learning and behaviour, stemming from significant communication difficulties and sensory needs. However the flip side to those difficulties is that in the right environment those difficulties can become strengths, such as routine and maintaining processes.

“80% of our pupils have the ability to gain paid employment and this is what they aspire to. We aim to offer our pupils the learning opportunities to achieve their goals.”

17-year-old Katie has been at Inscape House School since she was six and working in the cafe has really helped her confidence and has provided her with the experience she needs to work in hospitality.

Katie said, “My favourite days are working in the cafe. I like to be busy and wait tables.”

Anne added, “Katie is always coming up with new ideas and along with her work experience in Stockport College cafe we are helping her to prepare for life after Inscape, by giving her the best chance of getting a job in an area that Katie loves!”

Jen Sweeney, Senior Fundraiser said “I first met Sallyann through Cheshire Connect, a registered charity that encourages the donation of skills from businesses and matches those skills with the needs of the voluntary and community sectors.

“Sallyann has worked closely with Anne and the team at the Together Trust to ensure the smooth launch of inCafe.   The support has really assisted the school with the launch of Inscape Enterprises and we would like to say a huge thank you to Sallyann.”

If you work for an organisation that is focused on supporting the local community and has a skill-set to share we would love to hear from you.

Contact Jen Sweeney, jennifer.sweeney@togethertrust.org.uk  T: 0161 283 4847  M: 07920 454982