Bristow & Sutor celebrates success of ongoing charity partnership

Enforcement firm celebrates success of ongoing charity partnership

The Bristow & Sutor Group, based in Redditch, Worcestershire, is calling for more like-minded businesses to commit to worthy causes long-term, after achieving successful outcomes in their ongoing charitable partnership launched last year.

The enforcement specialists announced The Money Charity as their latest charity partner in 2021 and have committed to providing both fundraising and volunteering support for at least the next three years.  At the IRRV Annual Conference in Telford last October, The Money Charity exhibited alongside Bristow & Sutor and obtained 53 nominations from individuals to help support local community projects, ranging from education and children’s settings to adult settings and large housing associations.

Now, these nominations have converted into four Financial Wellbeing workshops delivered to 75 young people in Nottingham and Wakefield, with subjects including Planning & Budgeting, Covid-19, Saving, Credit, Banking, Tax & Payslips, Housing and The Psychology of Money. With the ongoing support of Bristow & Sutor funding, 14 more sessions have now been scheduled, meaning over 300 young people will receive additional Financial Education training. Three Adult Workshops comprising 24 participants have also taken place on the back of these nominations, in locations including Warrington, Knowsley, and Darlington, with a further five already scheduled for later this year.

Feedback from participants has been unanimously positive, with one school sharing an average rating of 4.5 out of 5 and 100% of the young adults taking part stating they would want to attend future events. 93% of participants in the adult training sessions agreed they would recommend the session to others.

Michelle Highman, CEO of The Money Charity, said, “We are pleased to be able to bring our sessions to new audiences, and reach even more young people and adults with the support of The Bristow & Sutor Group. Our partnership gives us the opportunity to build new relationships with schools and community groups across England, helping us to achieve our aim to increase financial wellbeing and understanding.”

Emma Watson, Head of External Communication at Bristow & Sutor, added,

“Removing taboos around discussing money is an ongoing societal need and true support must go beyond making one-off financial contributions. Whilst investment and fundraising remain essential, continuous communications and awareness-raising activities that successfully help people to understand financial wellness and avoid problem debt is priceless. We are delighted to see such positive outcomes being reached for The Money Charity, thanks in part to the efforts of The Bristow & Sutor Group.

“This is only the start of our support and we cannot wait to see the extra outcomes we can reach. Over the next six months, we have several initiatives planned to both maintain our existing charitable pledges and expand our fundraising and volunteering commitments even further. Volunteering week, for example, takes place in June and we are already seeing members of staff begin to raise awareness for numerous causes close to their hearts. We would recommend a similar approach to any other business as we have seen first-hand these activities help those in need, but also have a profound impact on those who take part.”

The Bristow & Sutor Group comprises of Bristow & Sutor, Debt Recovery Plus (DRP) and Credit Style. Bristow & Sutor has over 44 years of experience in the collection of local council tax, non-domestic rates and unpaid Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs).

The company has a long history of supporting causes that make a positive impact in the communities the business engages with. This includes supporting Talk Money Week, the annual financial wellbeing promotion held by MAPS (Money and Pensions Service) and Steps for StepChange, raising funds and awareness during Debt Awareness Week (DAW). Other charitable causes donated to in recent times include the Trussell Trust, Stop Domestic Abuse and AdviceUK.