Corporate Social Responsibility 2018

At Strength Within, we are focusing on three areas this year…

1. Start-ups and small businesses

2. Career returners

3. Parenting charities & communities

1. Start-ups and small businesses

I’ve been on the receiving end of a lot of support, advice and kindness since the inception of Strength Within and am hoping to pass some of that on to other start-ups and small business owners, via mentoring and allocating a space on each of my Back to Work After Baby public workshops.

These workshops happen in Dublin every two months, and one space is available in each, free of charge, for a start-up or small business that could not otherwise financially support their employee’s attendance.

If you, or someone on your team is due back from maternity leave in the coming months please get in touch or spread the word.

Not a start-up or small business but interested for your employees? We run public and in-house workshops so please get in touch to learn more.

Not working for a start-up or small business but currently on maternity leave? Why not ask your employer to sponsor you to attend.

2. Career returners

Strength Within runs Ireland’s first free monthly meet-up dedicated to parents planning a return to work. The Returners Coffee Morning is open to anyone planning a return to work - whether to an existing role or looking for a new position. The focus is on providing a supportive environment where parents can share concerns, advice and experiences with others in a similar situation.

Held in Dublin on the last Thursday of every month, mums, dads, babies and children are all welcome to join this informal event.  If you would like to learn more please get in touch.

I am also open to collaborating on returnership programmes and would love to hear from anyone working in this space.

3. Parenting charities & communities

Becoming a parent is one of most significant and complex personal and professional transitions you can experience in your lifetime. Having support structures that nurture your mental and physical wellbeing can make a huge difference to how positively you experience the early days of parenting - and local parenting communities and charities can play a big part in this.

At Strength Within, we recently launched our new Corporate Gift Boxes. As a parent to a new baby, it can be hard to prioritise yourself in the early months and weeks, and so this gift is here to do just that – provide new Mums and Dad’s with something that nurtures their mental and physical wellbeing, includes a gift for the new baby, and helps connect them to the wider parenting community.

These gifts are suitable for both new mums and dads and help them to get off to a positive start on their parenting journey. They are perfect as a company gift for new parents, or for work colleagues or friends to chip in for a meaningful and memorable gift.

5% of sale price on all gifts is donated to Irish Parenting Charities to assist with building and improving community supports for new parents. Cuidiú is our charity of choice for 2018, a parent-to-parent support group run by volunteers, providing education and support for parenthood.

If you are interested in these products, you can find out more at strengthwithin.ie/corporate-baby-gifts/

So there you have it – our three CSR areas this year…I'd love to hear what other organisations are doing for 2018?