Bright Life: Volunteering at Feeding Coventry

At Bright, our employees can take a day’s leave each year to volunteer with charities. Our HR Generalist, Emily, decided to take her volunteer leave and spend the day with independent charity, Feeding Coventry.

Here’s how she got on, in her own words.

Who are ‘Feeding Coventry’?

Feeding Coventry is an independent charity working to end food poverty and prevent hunger in Coventry and serve the poorest people of Foleshill. They aim to address the immediate needs and underlying causes of poverty by empowering beneficiaries to improve their lives, prospects, health, and wellbeing, regardless of age, income, or background. Foleshill is known for its vibrant and diverse culture, home to many languages, ethnicities, and faiths. However, it also faces significant social and economic challenges; it is one of the most deprived parts of Coventry and, indeed, in the UK.

“When our community members present to the Social Supermarket experiencing food poverty, we understand that it is merely the presenting issue of a host of complex life challenges, hence why we place such a high emphasis on wellbeing and providing a warm and caring environment.”

Why did I choose them?

Coventry has been a big part of my life from since I can remember. I’ve worked in the city, have family residing there so although the geography is relevant, I’ve seen the struggles as well as the endeavours in the city over the past 20 years. The one element of Feeding Coventry that really lights me up is the concept behind the charity. It’s not just the donations, it’s not just feeding people, it’s the recognition that people who are in need deserve dignity, respect and as much ‘normality’ as possible with the absence of judgment or sterile hand-outs. For me, it’s wanting to support a charity where real people genuinely care about other people’s feelings and quality of existence. Honestly, it feels rare, and I want to be a part of it.

How did I help?

I feel as though volunteering immediately makes you think of helping in a physical or manual sense. Although I have helped in this capacity previously by helping with the refurbishment of the centre, this time the need was different. After chatting with the Operations Director, it was clear their processes needed looking at. Being a charity, they just don’t have the funding to employ for this function.

I was sent over some brief processes the charity already had in place and some pointers as to where they were lacking. With that information and my experience, we got together and got to work. With only a day to play with, there were obvious limitations, but we really got to the bottom of a few recurring issues and implemented some great quick win solutions.

Little things make a big difference

Having the opportunity to volunteer my time and expertise on one of my working days is truly an amazing benefit that Bright offers. It is the recognition that my time helping others is valuable for community as well as my own personal sense of fulfilment. This gesture keeps the circle of giving alive because little things really do make a big difference.

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