Sam volunteers at Street League

At PayStream, we are committed to making a difference to those in our local community, which is why we have partnered with Benefacto, an organisation that works with small charities to provide professional volunteers who spend a one off day in work hours to come along and help out with sessions.

Sam Hayward, a member of our Customer Care team recently had the opportunity of volunteering at Street League. The Rusholme based charity supports unemployed young adults aged 16-25 by helping them to develop their skills and confidence in order to help them find jobs. The support they offer can be anything from CV building, interview preparation to general help and confidence boosting. Street League incorporate sport to achieve their goals as key skills in sport are often transferable into the working world.

Sam's day began by meeting a lady named Jen, one of the team members at Street League. Jen explained how Street League operates and the charity’s aims. Once everyone else had arrived, Sam had a quick chat with them all to introduce himself. Soon after, the group were split into two and took part in a Dragon’s Den styled activity to mimic an interview scenario. Each group planned and presented a pitch with the intention of convincing Sam and Jen to invest in their idea, the pair asked the groups tough questions to see if they had thoroughly thought about their pitch.

A well-earned lunch break soon followed! Sam took this chance to chat to members of staff and learn about their efforts with the Job Centre, recruitment agencies and apprenticeship providers.

Sam bonded with the group over a couple of games of Ping-Pong and pool after lunch where they all had a bit of fun, including Sam even though he lost every game! However, he did take this opportunity to get to know Elliot, one of the group better. Elliot told Sam about his aspirations of becoming a personal trainer, Sam told us that this was clear to see from the enthusiasm in which Elliot spoke about the subject and in particular the gym.

As part of PayStream’s ongoing commitment to helping out our local community, over the coming months more of our employee’s will have the opportunity to volunteer through our partners, Benefacto. We’re excited to share their experiences on our blog with you, so watch this space!