A person in a wheelchair

There are nearly 165,000 charities in the UK but, although we are ambitious, we can’t possible suggest we’re going to work with all of them. Our impact depends on working with the right organisation and the right people, at the right time. In the end, we partner with the charities and social enterprises we work with so we have to be right for each other to maximise the work of everyone involved. How do we do that? Well, with a little help from our friends.

This is the story of how one member of our community, a business mentor (aka Pilotlighter), connected us to a charity he was involved with. As you read on, ask yourself this question: who would you nominate?

Sarah* is in her early 40s and has myasthenia gravis, which affects her mobility and causes intense fatigue. She lives in Surrey, and so is fortunate to be able to benefit from the support of SILC, the Surrey Independent Living Council. SILC helps disabled adults, children, older people and carers to live independently and make the most of the assistance available in Surrey.

With the support of SILC, Sarah is able to get out and about, see her friends and spend quality time with her husband and children, something most of us can take for granted.

Steve Peckham recently became both SILC’s treasurer, and a Pilotlighter. In both cases, he makes the most of his social capital to tackle social disadvantage. Steve, however, took this a step further: he put SILC’s CEO in touch with me at Pilotlight.

Following a conversation, SILC applied to our programme and we agreed both organisations would benefit from working together. We started a few months ago. Parallel to this, Steve continues to support a Suffolk charity called Greenlight Trust along with his fellow Pilotlighters.

With Steve’s support Pilotlight is now helping two charities become stronger and more sustainable. This way, he’s contributing doubly to helping us achieving our vision of bringing charities and business together to have a positive impact on society.

Steve knew Pilotlight and SILC well and saw from the start it would be a good partnership, so he made the connection. And although we talk about partnerships, strategy and efficiency, ultimately what Steve is doing is helping more people like Sarah.

*not her real name.

Written by
Profile picture for user Georges Lebreton
Georges Lebreton
Support Manager - Pilotlight