Leeds businessman raises thousands in support of homelessness charity
A Leeds-based businessman has raised more than £3000 for Yorkshire homelessness charity, Simon on the Streets in the last year.
Tim Collins, founder of The Tim Collins Consultancy, has raised substantial funds for the local charity, as part of his business’s corporate social responsibility initiative.
Tim donates money to Simon on the Streets via his ‘pay fair’ scheme, which has generated more than £1,000 in September alone.
The company runs an innovative ‘Pay Fair’ scheme, which enables him to work with clients for a suggested hourly rate, however they are free to pay what they want.
Any payments made above the hourly rate are donated directly to Simon on the Streets. Alongside this, if a client makes a referral, 10% of the referral’s payment is donated to the charity.
Tim recently marked the company’s success by donating the full payment received from its 500th client.
Founded in 1999, Simon on the Streets is an independent charity, which relies solely on sponsorship, fundraising and donations. The charity works with local people who are affected by homelessness and rough sleeping in Leeds, Bradford and Huddersfield. The organisation offers street-support to individuals who have complex needs and cannot access mainstream services, due to behavioural issues or mental illness.
The Tim Collins Consultancy provides mentoring, coaching and training, with a niche specialism in helping lawyers to become judges.
Commenting on his donations to Simon on the Streets, Tim Collins said:
“I chose Simon on the Streets following attending an event where an outreach worker, Jamie, told his personal story of rough sleeping.”
“Jamie’s story was extremely powerful and moving, you realise that we’re possibly only a couple of steps away from being in that position, we have a lot more in common than many people think.”
“I was inspired by a talk from Simon Biltcliffe from Webmart who said that ‘people who chase money end up being miserable’, obviously it’s important to make sure you have enough to get by, but then you can decide what to share and how to support other people.”
“You must look at everybody in the same light, whether I’m helping people to become judges, mentoring entrepreneurs in my mentor role at Entrepreneurial Spark, or supporting homeless people, my common currency is the thanks and gratitude I receive”
General manager of Simon on the Streets, Gordon Laing, commented:
“We are so grateful to Tim for his continuous contributions to Simon on the Streets. As a charity that is run solely on sponsorship, fundraising and donations, we rely on the generosity of individuals such as Tim to carry out our essential outreach work with the rough sleepers of Yorkshire.