Law firm hopes to turn £500 into thousands for local charity

The Liverpool office of national law firm Weightmans has dedicated a team of ten staff to raise as much money as possible from an initial investment by Fairbridge of £500 following a successful pitch to the Fairbridge Merseyside board, held in a similar style to the pitches made famous by the BBC’s ‘Dragon’s Den’.  

Fairbridge is a youth charity offering support to local 13-25 year olds who are out of education, employment or training. They run 12 week programmes to help more than 3,500 young people a year gain the qualifications and essential skills needed to place them back in employment and give them a brighter future.

The Weightmans pitch was one of ten successful proposals as part of the ‘Zero to Hero’ campaign, bagging the team £500 to make their campaign a reality over the next four months. Work has already started to convert the initial investment into a much greater sum as the firm recently invited young people from the Fairbridge project to design a Christmas card and from this three winning designs will be chosen and sold over the festive period. Weightmans is now appealing for sponsors to help fund the project to ensure the campaign raises as much money as possible.

As part of ‘Zero to Hero’, the team must raise a minimum of £5,000 from their chosen venture. Weightmans is now calling on local businesses to get involved and help the firm smash this £5,000 barrier.

Marine & Transit solicitor, Emma Rice leads the team which comprises lawyers and other staff from Weightmans: Adrian Herring, David Miers, Charlie Jones, Charlie Williams, Graeme Kenna, Jenny Calvert, Paula Dolan, Peter Forshaw and Vicki Silvester.   Emma explains that they are looking for support from local businesses that wish to get involved in the project:

“We are looking for a donation of £1,000 from our supporters. Sponsors will have their company logo used on the cards and  e-cards, links to company web pages via a campaign website as well as invitations to the launch event. It is a great chance to really give back to the local community and we hope to raise as much as possible for Fairbridge to ensure more young people are helped into work and education.”

Peter Forshaw, Partner and Head of Commercial Social Responsibility at Weightmans said of the campaign:

“This is a fantastic opportunity for Liverpool businesses to really get behind an organisation that does so much to ensure the next generation have all the support they need. Fairbridge provide services that are vital to many young people so it is a very worthy cause.

 “The Christmas cards will look fantastic and we’re certain they will sell well. Some of the artwork the young people have been submitting shows so much talent that shouldn’t go unrecognised.”