Homeless charity holds event to welcome interested business partners to its day shelter – The Haven

Swindon Night Shelter, the charity which runs The Haven day centre for the homeless and vulnerably housed in the town, is holding a Business Partner launch event on Tuesday September 10.

Throughout the day, interested business owners will be invited to drop in and see what the team are doing and perhaps commit to supporting their work financially on a monthly basis over the next year or more. 

The Haven, in Queen’s Drive, opened its doors for the first time in January this year. Run by the Swindon Night Shelter it provides shelter, food, a safe space, activities for the homeless in the town. Other agencies come into the Haven to support the work in partnership with the SNS team. 

Swindon Council has gifted the building to the charity until November this year when the charity will have to start paying the bills. Swindon Night Shelter is funded entirely by public donation of time, money, local grants and receives no funding from any public organisation to support its work.

Becky Davison, project leader, said: “We are really hopeful that business owners and directors who care about their community will come along and find out what we do here – and the other projects we run in the town to support the homeless.

“Demand is growing and we have to become sustainable as an organisation to continue to provide the amazing support we are currently able to offer. While we need volunteers to give their time – we also need money to pay the bills. We are hoping a number of local brands will understand and support us under their own ‘giving back’ policies.” 

At the invitation-only event, business owners and directorswill be welcomed and be given a tour of The Haven. There will be several presentations throughout the day about Swindon Night Shelter’s future plans and vision, how contributions will be used, as well as giving information about impact the charity has in helping the homeless in Swindon. 

Invitees will be offered a buffet lunch and the event will mark the official launch of the Business Partners of Swindon Night Shelter.

They will also be told about the financial support needed to make the charity sustainable and the sponsorship opportunities available. 

These include becoming:

• A main partner of SNS – donating £1,000 a month which covers food and utility bills for the Haven per month helping hundreds of rough sleepers enjoy warmth and safety. 
• Official business partners – donating £500 a month covering the cost of a part-time coordinator for all of the donations received by the charity across the town. This person distributes donations to the Haven, the other SNS projects and to partner charities helping the vulnerable around our town. 
• Associate business partner – donating £100 a month which makes a small, valuable and consistent contribution to our costs. This covers our broadband costs allowing the homeless to access services, information and support online. 

Swindon Night Shelter already has a group of local businesses which are ‘official suppliers’ providing valuable pro bono goods and services. These include Dennis Removals, Working Links, Fiona Scott Media and the National Self Build and Renovation Centre, Tesco, Orchard Press, Dale Foods, Green Machine Computers, Krypton Environmental and Coop. 

Whether a business is a main partner, business partner or supplier they are given a special logo to demonstrate their social responsibility.

To find out more about becoming an SNS Business Partner visit http://www.swindonnightshelter.uk/sponsorship-opportunities