New Beginnings for All

It is hard to believe quite how quickly time has flown past and that it is now a year since our Future Job Fund (FJF) team joined Giving World Online.

We started with a team of 13 young unemployed people in April 2010, and recruited a further 9 people in May.

They were all were originally employed on six month contracts but luckily many of these contracts were extended to cover a full twelve months.

Meanwhile in the natural course of things, and the reason why FJF was set up in the first place, some staff quickly moved on to pastures new.

Some left to take up permanent jobs; some have returned to full time education; one has set up his own business and one person has left due to educational commitments but continues to donate their time in a voluntary capacity.

This was the whole purpose behind FJF, to help young unemployed people gain skills and work experience for the future, and we are really happy to see that the experience of working at Giving World Online has enabled them all to take a step forward on their chosen career paths.

Their contribution to Giving World Online helped us move forward in a variety of ways.

Good luck to all concerned and thank you for your contribution

On a TV Near You

As the saying goes some things in life are worth waiting for. The Giving World Online advert will be premiered on April 1st on Discovery Channel, Discovery History and Discovery Science.

If you can, sit down and tune in at 5pm to Born Survivor with Bear Grylls on the Discovery Channel and watch our first national television broadcast.

Our Giving World Online advert (with a voice over by David Mitchell) is aimed at raising awareness of our free service and its many benefits to businesses and will be broadcast over the coming months.

Discovery Networks will be featuring the advert on ‘The Loop’ which can be found at http://www.discoveryuk.com/the-loop, so if you can’t be in front of the television or are unable to receive Discovery programmes, you will be able to view our advert at your leisure.

You’ll also be able to see it below, on our website http://www.givingworldonline.com/ and on our Youtube Channel.

Time for a Spring Clean!


At this time of year our minds turn to the promise of brighter and warmer times ahead, and of course, spring cleaning.

We can help you to find good homes for all those items cluttering up space in warehouses and offices around the UK.

If your organisation is planning to have a clear out, don’t forget that there are millions of people in need supported by thousands of charities and community groups all working to make a difference to people’s lives.

Your unwanted items could be the very thing that is vital or needed – why waste when so many people in need can benefit from your unwanted items.

You are just a few steps away from contributing to help those in need so why not register and make a big impact. Read how John Lewis Leicester are doing just that.

One Hundred and Eighty Tonnes and Counting……..

Giving World Online has hit a significant target of redirecting 180 tonnes of surplus stock away from landfill and onto benefit people in need.

Thanks to the latest donation of 3000 single bed mattresses we are now past our 100 tonnes milestone and working towards our next Giving World Online big target - 300 tonnes redirected from landfill.

Meanwhile many of the mattresses are being redistributed to hostels and refuges around the country, providing homeless and isolated people with a safe, clean and comfortable place to sleep.

Giving World Online has now seen over £700,000 worth of company donations touch the lives of 175,000 vulnerable people.

Director, Rama said: "This has been a great year for Giving World Online and hitting this milestone is the icing on the cake at this time of year. Thanks to all the companies and organisations that have made this possible; they have all contributed to making a really positive impact on the lives of many of the poorest and most vulnerable members of society."

The DEFRA Waste Review

Recently the Secretary of State for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Rt Hon Caroline Spelman MP, announced that the Government would undertake a full review of waste policy in England. Preliminary findings are due to be announced by Spring 2011.

The current Waste Review will be looking to implement measures to cut landfill waste which could have a big impact on businesses. According to Defra, for every tonne of household waste produced, commercial, industrial and construction businesses produce another six tonnes.

One of the ways the government intends to help businesses reduce waste and increase recycling is through voluntary responsibility deals.

Announced by Environment Minister Lord Henley the voluntary responsibility deals on waste will remove the need for further regulation and will lead to less waste and more recycling with the added benefits of businesses saving money and helping to protect the environment

The good news is that companies donating goods through Giving World Online save money on storage and disposal costs whilst meeting Corporate Social and Environmental Responsibility goals. Giving World Online is ideally placed to offer a solution for companies with quality goods to dispose of and it doesn’t cost a penny.

16/09/2010 - Giving World Online Commended by Beacon Fellowship

We are all delighted that Rama and Sujata Bhalla have just received a Beacon Prize 2010 ‘Highly Commended’ certificate in the New Initiatives Category for launching Giving World Online.

With previous Beacon winners including the likes of Sir Bob Geldolf, Jamie Oliver and Big Issue founder John Bird, to even be considered alongside such great company is a real achievement.

The sisters were nominated by Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland Community Foundation and Leicestershire First.

The Beacon Fellowship Trust commented, “Our panel of independent judges thought your achievements were remarkable; that you were nominated by your peers proves that your contribution to charitable and social causes is truly inspirational.”

Sujata Bhalla said: "We were really surprised to receive our Beacon Prize Highly Commended certificate. Receiving recognition like this is a great boost and confirms that Giving World Online is making a valuable contribution to communities and the environment."

The Beacon Fellowship Charitable Trust was established to help change the climate of giving in the UK; to encourage everyone, not just a few, to take personal responsibility for charity in the UK. Beacon works to uncover and recognise extraordinary achievements in the world of charity.

Read the original story and more at Giving World Online's site.

Charity benefits from donated hot plate

Today we follow the life-cycle of a Victor Crown Hot Plate and Cabinet, recently donated by Capital One and gratefully received by Whitwick Community Coffee Shop.

Manufactured by Victor Catering Equipment, The Victor Crown mobile catering hot plate has been serving Capital One’s workforce for most of its life. Recently, Capital One restructured which involved upgrading their restaurant. This meant the hot plate was no longer needed, but what to do?

Throwing it away would be bad for the environment. It would need to be taken apart and dealt with in line with the appropriate regulations, which is often expensive. It would be much better to allow its life-cycle to continue since it is still in good working order.

So it was on offer to a good home through Giving World Online and ultimately donated to the Whitwick Coffee shop this July, giving it a new lease of life.

Whitwick Community Coffee Shop is a charity that works to combat social exclusion by running events and activities designed to bring people in the local community together, such as a lunch club each weekday. Here they serve home cooked meals to around 400 people per week, mostly young mums and the elderly.

They were really pleased to get the hot plate. It will allow them to serve the meals quickly and efficiently giving them more time to spend with people.

It’s great to see companies like Capital One being so keen to help the environment and the community. They were delighted by the opportunity to do both at once by giving a community group the support it needs whilst preventing items from going to landfill.