Side By Side Gets A Makeover

Peterborough’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) network, SidebySide, is being relaunched by Opportunity Peterborough and its partners to encourage more businesses to get involved

SidebySide was first launched a year ago by some of the larger companies in Peterborough who wanted to use their CSR budgets to really make a difference. The idea of co-coordinating these efforts on a large scale lies at the heart of SidebySide, and works on the premise that the city is “better together”.

The network allows firms who want to engage in CSR work to target their activities in areas where Peterborough’s need is greatest, as well as share information and experiences. Businesses can look on the site and choose a project they would like to support. Some of the current projects include: “Youth Contract”, which helps unemployed young people prepare for work and find a job; “Mending Broken Hearts”, which raises money for the British Heart Foundation; and “The One Service”, which helps to rehabilitate ex-offenders.

There are four ways businesses can get involved: donations, volunteering, specialist expertise or in-kind support (for example offering the use of a meeting room, or donating old office equipment).

Susie Baird, the CSR Network programme manager said:

SidebySide is a great example of the city working together to create something that will improve the place we live and work. There will be lots of exciting things coming up and we are hoping to keep the momentum going and make sure everyone knows about it. We want to continue increasing the number of projects and good causes on the site, and also the number of business who are participating

To find out more about SidebySide visit: www.sidebysidecsr.co.uk