InXpress made a concerted team effort to give practical support to a Northampton Community Centre, moving the #InXpressGivesBack initiative beyond just words.

On Wednesday 5^th September, InXpress head office staff were joined by some of their franchisee network at Northampton DeafConnect. An army of 14 volunteers met in Northampton, the day before the InXpress Sales Conference, to offer their support to a charity helping people in their local community.

InXpress globally run various Gives Back campaigns, with franchisees visiting a charity and practically helping in any way they can. “This is the first time InXpress have run this type of campaign here in the UK,” explains Jon White, InXpress CEO. “Having seen how well the initiative has done in other countries, we were inspired by their successes through volunteering as a network.”

Deafconnect is a charity which supports the deaf and hard of hearing in Northampton to live independently. Joanna Steer, Deafconnect CEO, explains: “We took over the community centre about five years ago from the council. The idea being that this would help with our long-term sustainability. The 14 people who turned up from InXpress have given us a massive boost and helped us to finish work we have struggled to do on our own, like decorating the rooms, and clearing the gardens.”

InXpress regularly raise funds for good causes but wanted to donate their time too. They approached the Daventry volunteer centre, who put them in touch with Deafconnect.

Volunteers from InXpress Preston, Birmingham North West, Birmingham North, Guildford, Reading and Banbury worked hard to clear the outside of the community centre, including removing vine weed, and painting some of the communal rooms.

Jon led by example, alongside his team, and put his painting skills to good use. “It was a lot of hard work, but worth making such an important contribution to an inspiring charity, on a practical level,” he says. “It was great to see so many of our franchisees taking time away from the office, and volunteering to help the Gives Back campaign. It looks like we will have had a positive impact for the future of Deafconnect in the local community.”

Joanna agrees: “It has been a fantastic opportunity to work with big companies, such as yourselves. I look forward to building a relationship with you for future projects. Thank you.”