Irwin Mitchell Nominates Charity Of The Year For 2020

A Somerset organisation which offers mentoring support to disadvantaged young people in the region is set for a fundraising boost after it was nominated by staff at the Bristol office of Irwin Mitchell to be its Charity of the Year for 2020.

Every year, the national law firm holds a vote for lawyers and others based across each of its 14 offices to select a good cause which they can support for 12 months through voluntary work and fundraising activities.

The initiative is part of work undertaken by the Irwin Mitchell Charities Foundation, an independent charity established in 1997 which has raised more than £2 million for a range of different organisations both in the UK and abroad.

This year, the Bristol office of Irwin Mitchell has chosen to support PROMISEworks, an independent charity which was established to ensure that vulnerable young people across Somerset are able to access vital mentoring services.

Expert Opinion

“We have always been committed to getting involved in the communities where we are based and doing what we can to support vital local causes within those areas.

The Charity of the Year initiative has given us a great chance to do that and we are delighted to be supporting PROMISEworks across the next 12 months. The charity undertakes some truly invaluable work in our region and we are very excited at the prospect of helping it in the coming year.” Julie Lewis - Partner

Mentoring services in Somerset were originally provided by an agency of the county council, but PROMISEworks was established after changes meant there was a danger that such support may only be offered to children in care. Mentoring is known to offer a range of benefits for disadvantaged young people and can help to improve their self-esteem and anger management.

Robert Peto, Chair of the Trustee Board of PROMISEworks, said: “It is simply fantastic news that Irwin Mitchell’s Bristol office has decided to select us as their Charity of the Year for 2020.

“It is great to see such an organisation getting involved in the community and offering its support to local causes.  We currently have 80 children and young people who are on the edge of, or just left, the Care system matched with trained volunteer mentors. We have big plans for the next 12 months to expand the number of mentees to over 100 and the support of Irwin Mitchell will be a huge boost as we look to continue to provide key support to young people across the region.”

“The “PROMISE” in PROMISEworks  is that we will match a trained volunteer mentor to a challenged young person for a minimum of two years, and the “Works” is that it does just that – works in helping children to build a life that works”