Sporting Connections

In the last few months, Phoenix have been supported by many Cambridge based sporting endeavours. We love meeting new people and are always keen to have a go ourselves or by cheering along at the side lines.

Milton Football Club came to visit us recently to hand over a cheque for an amazing £750 from their charity match, the annual Mary Daniels Memorial Cup, where the Milton All Stars took on Girton United. Thank you to everyone who came down on the day or sent a donation, we are very grateful for the club’s support. The Phoenix family enjoyed the match as we are big football fans, one of our co-workers even had a go in goal, and we hope to continue our association over the coming months.

However, we have also dipped our toes in to the world of golf. Last year Bourn Golf Club made us their charity of the year, and this year, our wonderful supporters at COEL, recently held a charity golf day at Ely City Golf Club, which raised a staggering £3750.00 for Phoenix. We were delighted to go along and tell everyone about our history, our mission, all the people that make up our community, the products that we make and our commitment to sustainability. We are immensely grateful to everyone who so generously supported the day and made it such a wonderfully positive and inclusive occasion. Thanks to sponsors KRB, The Cambridge Building Society, The Salmon Bros, Wedd Joinery and Workstories

A special mention is also needed for Brewers Decorator Centres for their separate, generous donation and the hospitality team at Ely, who were so welcoming.

Phoenix are having a Open Day on July 23rd, we will be putting our sporting friends to the test, with both golf and football themed challenges please come and join us, all are welcome!

Professional networking group rally to help The Phoenix Trust

We would like to share with you an article written about a visit from Interact which has been shared on the community page of The Cambridge Independent. Especially relevant now as some of this generous donation was used towards our new fence which with help from the Phoenix family is now complete.

The Phoenix Trust received a very special visitor carrying an amazing gift. Malcolm Howting, Chairman of local professional networking group Interact, visited The Phoenix Trust with a cheque for four thousand pounds allocated from Interact’s annual charitable funds.

Various causes had been nominated by members of Interact at their annual AGM and it was decided that this year The Phoenix Trust, which had been nominated by COEL, would be the appointed charity. The Phoenix Trust is based on the outskirts of Milton Country Park and is very much a grassroots local charity. Their incredible team offers adults and young people with learning disabilities, mental health issues and /or challenging behaviour the opportunity to gain work experience and life skills that will assist them in seeking employment and achieving their potential.

The busy team make a wide variety of products at their premises, to sell to the public; everything from: paving slabs, garden ornaments, arbors, and mud kitchens, to bird boxes, planters and trellises in all shapes and sizes. The last two years of restrictions and changing regulations have been immensely hard for the charity, especially given the much needed social structure it provides for its team. With COVID restrictions now ended in the UK, The Phoenix are in full swing and their centre is hosting all manner of exciting products to enhance your outdoor space as well as running their cake baking service.

Malcolm Howting reflects on his visit:

“I was amazed by my recent visit to The Phoenix Trust; you couldn’t meet a more enterprising or positive group of people. Their work ethic and pride in doing their job well is exemplary and the productivity within their team is staggering. We hope the money Interact has donated will help The Phoenix Trust develop the many plans they have and for their incredible team to thrive.”

New Insights from University Students

Phoenix Trust was delighted to be approached by final year students studying Marketing at the University of Hertfordshireto assist with an assignment to investigate ethical consumerism and its interface with social enterprises. The feedback from the students was illuminating, with two key marketing themes emerging – the need for Phoenix to demonstrate more clearly our sustainability credentials and engagement with the circular economy, and to celebrate the success and progression of our co-workers. Phoenix will certainly be looking at these two strands for development over the coming months. Two students, Lauren and Will, were judged, by Senior Lecturer, Nicky Shevlane, to have produced the best assignments, and Lauren also designed the article and informatic, featured here. Our thanks to Will, Lauren, Nicky and all the students who participated – it was a great project to be involved in and has provided us with some valuable fresh insights.