How cycling classes can be part of your Corporate Social Responsibility strategy
When Ed Clancy OBE and Graham Briggs decided to set up the Clancy Briggs Cycling Academy, a big motivating factor was to ensure they could provide inclusion for EVERY child.
As a three-time Olympic champion, Ed Clancy OBE knows first hand the importance of learning to ride a bike as a kid:
“I want every kid to have a ‘go to place’, even those who may be finding other aspects of their life difficult. I really want to give something back to the community after the support I’ve had in my career. I’m fortunate enough to have had the opportunity as a kid to get into cycling, I want to make sure more kids have the same chance”
The plan was always to launch with subscription classes, but at the same time launch a Community Interest Company to fund class places for those who would otherwise miss out.
According to government data, around 6 million families in the UK are part of households on low to middle incomes who are ‘just about managing’. These families may be struggling at the best of times, but the pressure is even worse during times of economic difficulty. Sadly, this may mean that access to a bike or learning to ride isn’t a priority. This is where the Clancy Briggs Community Interest Company and your CSR activities could overlap.
Are you currently reviewing your CSR initiatives?
These days, Corporate Social Responsibility or CSR is of increasing importance for a responsible business. A simple way to think about it is adopting business practices that benefit both your business and society.
Supporting local community projects to improve the lives of the people who live in the area your business operates in is a great way to show your employees that you share their values and support the community they live in.
If that reason isn’t compelling enough, a recent US study* revealed that 76% of millennial job hunters consider a company’s social and environmental commitments before deciding where to work and 64% won’t take a job if a potential employer doesn’t have strong corporate responsibility practices.
According to a recent article on Monster.co.uk, CSR strategies can be approached from a number of perspectives:
- Community Based - supporting local community projects to improve the lives of the people local to your organisation.
- Environmental Sustainability - focusing on ecological concerns, from recycling to reviewing your carbon footprint and environmental impact
- International Focus - looking at fair trade, sustainable development, supply chain and work conditions, child labour and human rights
- Workplace Based - focusing on improving staff wellbeing and fair remuneration, working conditions, diversity and training.
How about a partnership with the Clancy Briggs Community Interest Company?
Cycling can play a part in shaping every young life and we're working to find ways to roll out the benefits of cycling to as many people as possible.
You can help make the biggest impact on those who have the most to gain by making a donation to fund a place (or places) via our Community Interest Company, Clancy Briggs Cycling Academy CIC. 100% of your donation goes to funding places in the academy for those who need them most.
In conjunction with our partnership with Hope Academy we can offer these children the bikes and all the equipment they need to join our academy.
When we engage with children, whether through schools or through communities, we know the sessions will make a positive difference to their health, confidence, self esteem, sense of belonging and consequently have an overall positive impact on their general well-being.
Graham Briggs explains more:
“Just £102 will fund a child’s place on a cycling course for 3 months. Providing access to professional coaching, the necessary equipment and new experiences. It’s not about finding the next Bradley Wiggins, if it leads to a Tour de France winner that’s amazing, but we also want to help kids play at cycling, get out with their families, that’s the real driver for us”
Ed continues:
“The more kids we can get on bikes the better - for wellbeing, physical health, mental health. People stick with habits, it’s about encouraging a cycling habit when they’re young. That can lead to a lifetime of better health not to mention the positive impact on the environment.”
To find out more or make a donation to fund a place in our academy, please visit our website
*Study conducted by CONE Communications in Boston