BY WORDS BY FARHANA ELLAM – ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR AT BARINGS
EVENTS | COVID 19

Barings is a global financial services firm, whose core values focus on serving our clients, our communities and each other. We are committed to advancing economic and social mobility within our communities and empower our associates to engage in our programmes.

Through Barings Social Impact, we provide an opportunity for organisations to be selected as our Charity of the Year. The Charities selected have strong employee connections and provide an opportunity for Barings employees to get involved locally. Two charities were shortlisted for the inaugural two-year partnership – Leap Confronting Conflict and Royal Trinity Hospice.

The team at Barings chose Leap due to the charity’s transformational work with youth in the London community. Knife crime is a persistent issue in London, receiving extensive media coverage. The Office for National Statistics reported that 15,080 knife offences were recorded in the capital during the 12 months to the end of September 2019. Barings was keen to support a charity that works at the grassroots to offer young people another path in life.

The Charity of the Year partnership, gives our staff the opportunity to connect with the charity, its mission and people. It’s important to our firm and its culture that our staff give back in the communities where we live and work.  Interacting and engaging with the chosen organisation’s stakeholders and employees is important to us. For example, Barings held a charity football tournament for Leap last summer which gave our staff an opportunity to meet some of the people Leap was directly impacting and learn more about the issues they face. This active engagement means we are not just donating money, but helping to raise awareness and participating in activities to help build buy-in and rally around the charity’s cause.

Between 2019 and 2020, Barings staff raised £98, 361,00 for Leap, through a number of fundraising activities including, a ‘Great Barings Bake Off’, a 120-mile bike ride to Paris, a quiz night and the charity football tournament.

Ben Kernighan Chief Executive said: “A huge thank you from all at Leap to the Barings staff team, for selecting us as your Charity of the Year, two-year partner 2019 – 2020. Your incredible fundraising initiatives throughout last year during a pandemic and the enthusiasm shown has directly supported our work. Together we have assisted each young person to assess choices, grow in self-confidence and develop empathy when in conflict situations. These are essential skills for them to fulfil their potential today and grow up to become community and social leaders of the future, so a huge thank you for investing in our work.”

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If you are company or philantrophist interested in making a difference to lives of young people we work with connect with our team.

IMAGE CREDIT: BARINGS TEAM FOLLOWING A SUCCESSFUL RUN