Smart Works North East
Smart Works’ mission
Smart Works North East empowers all unemployed women who need help getting into work through the power of high-quality interview clothing and one to one coaching.
How will the donation be used?
This is an ongoing service and funding will be used towards its core running costs of rent, overheads and staffing. The service is run by 40 trained volunteer stylists and coaches who are dedicated to breaking down the main barrier for women getting into the workplace – confidence.
What impact is the donation expected to have?
The funding will benefit women living in the North East who are over 16 and unemployed. It will support the charity’s goal of supporting over 900 women a year through its interview dressing and preparation service (600) and its career coaching service (360).
For the charity’s clients, having a job means financial resilience, contributing to the community, a sense of purpose and becoming a role model for their families. 68% of clients get a job after their appointment and 97% feel more confident.
“We are absolutely delighted to receive funding from the IMCF to enable us to run our service supporting unemployed women across the region into employment. This grant is vital in helping us deliver this life-changing service and we are so delighted our charity is able to have this support.”
HELEN BOYD Head of Smart Works North East
“We chose to nominate Smart Works North East because of the long-term, life-changing impact that the charity’s work has across the North East. Smart Works’ mission is to help women in the North East build confidence, secure employment and change the trajectory of their lives, and we are really proud to support this. We believe everyone should have a fair opportunity to succeed, and Smart Works’ support makes a real difference.”
HARRIET BLAYNEY
Solicitor, Irwin Mitchell