Starts with you
How ‘Starts with you’ is creating positive change
Our social enterprise subsidiary Starts with you (SWY) continues to deliver its social purpose “to create opportunity and empower people to make Positive Change”, tackling life challenges and providing access to good quality work here in Bolton.
The company delivers property clearance, handy persons, caretaking, and building safety inspection contracts for Bolton at Home, creating jobs, and opportunities for local people who’ve struggled to get work in the past.
All of the profit they make is put back into the business or gifted to Bolton at Home to support more good work in our communities. Together with grants the money is used to offer free help with energy costs, money or benefits advice, basic digital skills, and getting into work, for Bolton at Home tenants and other residents.
Over the past year, SWY has grown the services to support our action to address damp and mould and to provide handy person services to a Greater Manchester-based social enterprise.
They’ve also secured grants of £150,000 from National Lottery, Bolton Community and Voluntary Services (CVS), and the Department for Work and Pensions, so they can offer energy advice, digital inclusion, life coaching, and employability support to more people struggling with the cost of living.
SWY has also been getting ready to trade with new customers outside of the Bolton at Home Group over the past year, investing in new technology to improve services, and launching fresh new branding and website to appeal to new customers.
As well as all this, SWY continues to make a real difference to people here in Bolton. Here are a few highlights:
of SWY employees are Bolton at Home residents, 69% live in Bolton and 92% in Greater Manchester.
of employees working at SWY during 2022-23 were out of work when they were taken on.
customers were supported to get back into work, an increase of 67% from the previous year.
Over
in financial gains for customers from money, benefits, and energy advice in 2022-23; a 25% increase on the previous year, with over £2m saved since SWY was established.
More than
customers have been supported, 40% of them are Bolton at Home customers.
“It’s the best company I have ever worked for, there’s a real family feel. Colleagues from my team have told me they feel the same - they just feel supported and that the company cares about them.”
Neil, Starts with you employee
Looking ahead at Starts with you
SWY will be expanding its advice and guidance services to include:
- Our £100,000 Lottery-funded “Energy Smart” programme, offering home energy advice and access to energy-saving measures for residents across Bolton.
- “Coffee and chat” sessions giving a chance for older residents to meet up, make new friends, and learn digital skills where they don’t have them.
To find out more about SWYs’ impact and services, contact the team via:
Email: hello@startswithyou.org.uk
Phone: 01204 937700
Twitter: @startswithyou1
Facebook: StartswithyouBolton
LinkedIn: STARTS WITH YOU LIMITED