WIREDGOV

Employees from Socitm, the body representing IT and digital professionals across the public and third sectors, have swapped office life for a day of volunteering to support one of its members.

A 10-strong team, from the organisation’s Northampton head office, spent a day helping out at the Acorns Children’s Hospice donation centre in Halesowen.

The group were given the task of sorting through dozens of bags of unwanted clothing, shoes, toys and other household items and identifying goods suitable for re-sale or recycling within Acorns’ network of charity shops.

The team managed to sort through 273 bags in total, which could potentially raise about £3,500 for the charity.

Acorns Children’s Hospice provides specialist palliative care to life limited and life threatened children and young people across the Midlands. The charity is one of eight third sector organisations benefiting from a Socitm membership.

Adrian Hancock, Socitm Chief Executive, said: “It’s a win, win – staff in our team get time out from their hectic working environment and have an opportunity to work with their colleagues in a completely different way while helping a valued member.”

Tony Colson, Head of Business Information Services at Acorns, said: “Sorting nearly 300 bags is highly impressive and we really appreciate all the hard work and enthusiasm the volunteers showed on the day. We rely on volunteers and the funds raised through our retail operation to meet the nearly £10 million it costs every year to provide our services.”

To find out more about becoming a Socitm member, please visit www.socitm.net or contact the membership team on 01604 709456.

For further information about Acorns, including your nearest shop, please visit www.acorns.org.uk