Three leading principals in further education are asking colleges across the country to join forces to collectively generate £1 million of social value.

Sam Parrett, chief executive and group principal of London South East College Group; Jo Maher, chief executive and principal of Loughborough College; and Stuart Rimmer, chief executive and principal of East Coast Colleges Group, have launched “Good for ME, Good for FE” today.

Together they hope the campaign will create a sustainable programme of community action across the UK and also support the mental health and wellbeing of staff. 

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The three strands of this new initiative will be the continuation of FE Food Bank Friday, which has been an immense success, encouraging voluntary activity within and outside of each college community, and developing corporate and charitable partnerships to help sustain a longer-term vision and impact. 

Sam Parrett: ‘Generating social value will be key to economic recovery going forward’

Ms Parrett said: “We know what an important role colleges play in their communities as genuine anchor institutions. Our staff are highly committed to supporting other people and we want to encourage and mobilise this incredible community spirit across our college group and, indeed, the wider sector. 

“The Covid-19 pandemic has been a challenging time for many people but we have also seen a revitalised sense of community spirit and purpose. Generating social value will be key to economic recovery going forward and I’m confident that our ambitious £1 million target is achievable. 

“Helping others is proven to improve an individual’s mental health and wellbeing. These are also things which have suffered during the pandemic and we are keen to support our staff with. I’m delighted to be working with two other colleges to get this campaign launched and am hopeful many others will join us - which will benefit local communities all over the UK.” 

Stuart Rimmer: ‘Connect the local with the national’

Mr Rimmer added: “Research points directly to benefits for staff and students volunteering: reduction is stress, preventing feelings of isolation, increasing confidence and providing a deeper sense of purpose and meaning through service.    

“This is important at a time when individual and community wellbeing is of utmost priority. Lockdown has shown us that people are designed to be in communities.  

“Coming together to help others is hugely beneficial for everyone. Colleges give thousands of hours every year in fundraising, volunteering and community engagement.   

“It’s brilliant that this new initiative can recognise this, but, more importantly, help to connect the local with the national to help us all do a little bit more.” 

Jo Maher: ‘A sustainable initiative centred around volunteering’

And Ms Maher said: “Community action and being an anchor institution are at heart of what colleges do in our work to develop social mobility, change lives and create opportunities for people to progress their careers.  

“Covid-19 demonstrated the collective power of further education in going the extra mile to help support communities and the FE Food Bank Friday campaign was a shining example of this.  

“By creating a sustainable initiative centred around volunteering that achieves more holistic outcomes, we are confident that we can hit the £1 million target and support positive action towards health and wellbeing.” 

The impact will be measured in monetary terms via London South East Colleges’ social value calculator. This system has been developed using the National TOMS framework, independently verified by the Centre for Local Economic Strategies (CLES) and the Social Value Portal.