Member Article

Building on our social values by supporting Crisis Skylight Newcastle

Committed to its social values, Bloom Procurement Services is pledging its assistance to Crisis Skylight Newcastle, a centre offering support, education and training to homeless people.

Research commissioned recently by Crisis and undertaken by Heriot-Watt University, shows that across the UK over 12,000 people were sleeping rough on the street and nearly 12,000 spending nights in cars, trains, buses or tents. Between 2012 and 2017, the numbers have soared by 120% in England and 63% in Wales.

Formed in 2012, Bloom is the exclusive operator of the NEPRO professional services framework on behalf of NEPO – the North East Procurement Organisation and encourages companies tendering for projects to demonstrate how they will add social value and support the local objectives of the public sector body to whom they are tendering.

The framework was set up to help the public sector buy and manage professional services spend whilst achieving better outcomes and improving value. Specialising in bringing together buyers and suppliers, Bloom has over 6,000 suppliers registered, allowing them access to opportunities across 300 public sector organisations. Already, the company has successfully completed 3,000 projects from very small to multi-million pound opportunities across the public sector including local authorities, hospitals, emergency services and education bodies.

Louise Patrick, HR manager at Bloom, said: “Our focus for the year ahead is to keep building our public sector and supplier community, to attract a high calibre workforce and to deliver further social value into procurement projects. 70% of our projects have been delivered by SMEs, which has enabled public sector organisations to drive growth back into the local economy.

“I have worked alongside our chief executive, David Shields and our executive chairman Adam Jacobs, to establish links with Crisis and we decided to support homelessness as it’s a growing problem in the North East. So far, we have raised money at a Christmas jumper day, taken donations for the Crisis Christmas Day appeal and various members of the team have raised money through running events. An example of this commitment to fundraising is Paul Seed, a senior procurement specialist, who recently raised just over £500 by completing the Kielder Dark Skies Treble. This involved running 50.5 miles over three days with all funds going to the charity.

“A very generous colleague also makes soup for some of the team here at Bloom and all profit raised goes to Crisis. Everyone is really passionate about getting involved and this is something for us all to be proud of.”

Laura Warner, regional fundraiser for Crisis North East, said: “Nationally, Crisis works directly with thousands of people experiencing homelessness every year. We provide services that help our members to rebuild their lives and are supported out of homelessness for good. We offer one-to-one support, advice and courses for homeless people in 12 areas across England, Scotland and Wales.”

“How we help someone depends on their individual needs and the situation. It could be with obtaining a home and settling in, getting new skills and finding a job, or help with their health and wellbeing. We use research to find out how best to improve our services and also to find wider solutions to homelessness. Together with homeless people and Crisis supporters, we campaign for the changes needed to end homelessness for good.”

Adam Jacobs, executive chairman at Bloom added “We are really pleased to have chosen Crisis Skylight Newcastle as our primary charity to support for 2019. Our heritage is in the North East, it is a fantastic region, one that we are committed to develop, invest in and grow. We are dedicated to making a real difference.

“At Bloom, our mission is simple, to open up procurement and bring together a community of buyers and suppliers, ensuring that social value is an integral part of the process. It is important that our values as a company are reflected across our supply chain and to encourage this, we feel we should lead by example and play our part in making the North East a great place for everyone to live and work.

“Crisis Skylight Newcastle delivers a vital service within the region and we are proud to support its campaign for the changes needed to end homelessness for good.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Bloom Procurement Services .