Team Challenge Company, one of the UK’s largest independent corporate team building providers, has announced a new partnership with pioneering homelessness charity Social Bite through its GoGive BackPack activity, where corporate teams complete challenges to fill backpacks with essentials to support people experiencing homelessness.
Designed to combine social impact with team engagement, GoGive BackPack offers organisations a meaningful way to give back while strengthening collaboration skills and boosting morale.
The partnership launch comes at a time when many UK companies are planning festive team activities and Christmas celebrations. Team Challenge Company expects hundreds of backpacks filled with items such as food, toiletries and flashlights to be donated, with groups typically producing between 25 and 50 backpacks per event.
Jonathan Hazley, co-director of Team Challenge Company, said: “This partnership with Social Bite allows businesses to give back while sharing a meaningful experience. We’ve taken part in many fundraising activities and challenges over the years, but this feels extra special. It gives us the chance to extend that same opportunity to our clients, to make a difference while their teams come together and have fun.”
Natasha Furmidge, Senior Manager for Corporate Partnerships & Community Fundraising at Social Bite, said: “We’re delighted to partner with Team Challenge Company on GoGive BackPack. It’s a brilliant example of how businesses can come together to be part of the solution to homelessness.
“Each backpack will support someone affected by homelessness by providing essential items that make an immediate difference. As companies start planning their Christmas events, this initiative is a simple but powerful way to show compassion and community spirit.”
Social Bite began as a small sandwich shop on Edinburgh’s Rose Street in 2012 and has since grown into one of the UK’s leading homelessness charities. In addition to daily free food services run at Social Bite coffee shops in Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow and London, the charity’s core work includes a unique employment programme, Jobs First, which provides meaningful employment for people who are affected by homelessness. Partnering with some of the UK’s biggest companies, Social Bite identifies roles which suit individuals’ skills and ambitions whilst supporting employers to create sustainable job opportunities.
Social Bite also operates an innovative form of high-quality temporary accommodation. The first Social Bite Village opened in Edinburgh 2018, and another will soon be open in South Lanarkshire. Using a bespoke, community-focused model, the Villages offer people in a situation of homelessness a home of their own, plus support to work towards a fresh start. To date, the Edinburgh Village has supported over 100 residents to reintegrate into the community by helping them develop the skills and confidence to maintain their own tenancy.
The backpacks donated through Team Challenge Company’s GoGive BackPack activity will be distributed by Social Bite wherever the need is greatest – including through its free food services, Jobs First employment programme and the Social Bite Villages.
Team Challenge Company delivers around 300 team building and engagement events each year, working with both private and public sector clients, from small companies to businesses with more than 250,000 employees worldwide. Clients include PwC, Sainsbury’s, KPMG, Shell and global pharmaceutical company Sanofi.
Find out more about Team Challenge Company at www.teamchallenge-company.co.uk.