We support Wood Street Mission because we are so inspired by their mission and dedication to supporting families who are facing financial hardship in our community. They are taking on a huge challenge, and one that seems to sadly increase year on year, and we understand that it is not an easy job. We want to be part of the solution, and to support Wood Street in helping as many families as possible.

We started by engaging our Employee Forum – who are a group of ESG-minded individuals from across all departments of the business. They supported our Christmas volunteering in 2023, and participated in the Trafford Palazzo abseil – with their endorsements we were able to influence our wider team to engage with Wood Street Mission activities. Utilising their employee feedback is one of the strongest tools to inspire and engage others to get involved. In recent years, we also started publishing Wood Street Mission in our internal communications, and sharing their mission and impact, which naturally resonated with a lot of our employees. They are in tune with the current economic crisis and understand that now more than ever, ordinary people experiencing financial hardship need support and encouragement to get back on their feet.

It’s been three years since we started supporting Wood Street Mission and we have had plenty of adventures during that time – including abseiling 170ft down the side of the Trafford Palazzo, running half marathons in the Great Manchester Run and putting our brains to the test in the Back2School Quiz, all in the name of raising money for Wood Street’s Smart Start project. Each year, we appeal for new children’s books and toys and our employees amaze us with the number of thoughtful donations! As part of our commitment to supporting Wood Street, we have donated £15,000 over the past three years too.

Truly, the most rewarding aspect of supporting Wood Street Mission has to be the Christmas Appeal. Each year, members of our team volunteer to spend the day at the Christmas Shop and are swept off their feet acting as personal shoppers for the day! Being face to face with the parents really hits home – I can only imagine how difficult it may feel to ask for help. Christmas is chaotic and challenging enough, without the additional stress of trying to figure out if presents are possible that year. It is such a special experience to meet the families at the Christmas Shop – you can see their face start to light up when talking about their children and the interests they have – and when we find the perfect presents and send them on their way, they express the most gratitude. In that moment, you know you have made a difference.

What would you say to someone who wanted to make a difference with this issue and who was thinking about supporting Wood Street Mission with their business/in their workplace?

Reach out to the Fundraising team at Wood Street Mission! They can provide a plethora of fundraising ideas and host campaigns throughout the year – I am confident that any business can find something that can work for them, whether that be participating in physical challenges like the Great Manchester Run, appealing for donations internally, or attending the Back2School Quiz (a great team building opportunity!) Wood Street Mission work incredibly hard to support families in financial hardship, and they need all of our support to expand their services and accelerate their progress towards eradicating poverty in Salford and Manchester.

We envision our support for Wood Street Mission continuing for as long as there is families who need their support. Supporting our local community is so important to Evolution Money, and it is a value held by all of our employees who continue to donate, fundraise and show up for Wood Street every year. We are so proud of the impact we have contributed to so far, but we know there is more to do, and we hope to be there every step of the way.

How did you come to support Wood Street Mission? Why Wood Street?  

We support Wood Street Mission because we are so inspired by your mission and dedication to supporting families who are facing financial hardship in our community. You are taking on a huge challenge, and one that seems to sadly increase year on year, and we understand that it is not an easy job. We want to be part of the solution, and to support Wood Street in helping as many families as possible.

What have you done to support us?

It’s been three years since we started supporting Wood Street Mission (full time?) and we have had plenty of adventures during that time – including abseiling 170ft down the side of the Trafford Palazzo, running half marathons in the Great Manchester Run and putting our brains to the test in the Back2School Quiz, all in the name of raising money for Wood Street’s Smart Start project. Each year, we appeal for new children’s books and toys on behalf of Wood Street Mission and our employees amaze us with the number of thoughtful donations! As part of our commitment to supporting Wood Street, we have donated £15,000 over the past three years too.

What is the most rewarding part of supporting Wood Street and the children and families we help?

Truly, the most rewarding aspect of supporting Wood Street Mission has to be the Christmas Appeal. Each year, members of our team volunteer to spend the day at the Christmas Shop and are swept off their feet acting as personal shoppers for the day! Being face to face with the parents really hits home – I can only imagine how difficult it may feel to ask for help. Christmas is chaotic and challenging enough, without the additional stress of trying to figure out if presents are possible that year. It is such a special experience to meet the families at the Christmas Shop – you can see their face start to light up when talking about their children and the interests they have – and when we find the perfect presents and send them on their way, they express the most gratitude. In that moment, you know you have made a difference.

How did you get your team involved with supporting Wood Street?

We started by engaging our Employee Forum – who are a group of ESG-minded individuals from across all departments of the business. They supported our Christmas volunteering in 2023, and participated in the Trafford Palazzo abseil – with their endorsements we were able to influence our wider team to engage with Wood Street Mission activities. Utilising their employee feedback is one of the strongest tools to inspire and engage others to get involved. In recent years, we also started publishing Wood Street Mission in our internal communications, and sharing their mission and impact, which

naturally resonated with a lot of our employees. They are in tune with the current economic crisis and understand that now more than ever, ordinary people experiencing financial hardship need support and encouragement to get back on their feet.

There are some overwhelming statistics about the number of children living in poverty in Manchester and Salford – 81,000 children. What would you say to someone who wanted to make a difference with this issue and who was thinking about supporting Wood Street Mission with their business/in their workplace?

Reach out to the Fundraising team at Wood Street Mission! They can provide a plethora of fundraising ideas and host campaigns throughout the year – I am confident that any business can find something that can work for them, whether that be participating in physical challenges like the Great Manchester Run, appealing for donations internally, or attending the Back2School Quiz (a great team building opportunity!) Wood Street Mission work incredibly hard to support families in financial hardship, and they need all of our support to expand their services and accelerate their progress towards eradicating poverty in Salford and Manchester.

How do you hope to support Wood Street in the future and is there anything we could do to better support you?

We envision our support for Wood Street Mission continuing for as long as there is families who need their support. Supporting our local community is so important to Evolution Money, and it is a value held by all of our employees who continue to donate, fundraise and show up for Wood Street every year. We are so proud of the impact we have contributed to so far, but we know there is more to do, and we hope to be there every step of the way.