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In the last year in which full data is available the arts and culture sector supported 360,000 jobs, contributed £10.8 billion to the nation’s economy, and had a gross value added per worker of £62,000 compared to £46,800 for the wider UK economy. Chris Gribble, CEO of National Centre for Writing, began his talk at our Norwich Networking Breakfast on Tuesday 16th July with these facts as a way of highlighting to the business community the contribution the arts and culture sector makes to the local and UK economy.

There is a booming culture scene in Norfolk and Suffolk with proportionally more people working in the sector than regionally or nationally. Considering that Norfolk is steeped in history this is hardly a surprising statistic, but the thing that did surprise a number of people in the room was just how much has always been going on in our fine city. Norwich was the first city in England to establish a municipal library in 1608 and the Millennium Library has been the most used public library in 6 out of the last 7 years. If you’ve ever been to an event as part of the Norfolk and Norwich Festival you’ve attended England’s oldest city arts festival, which began in 1772. Julian of Norwich, one of Europe’s great mystics, wrote Revelations of Divine Love in an anchorite cell in Norwich and was the first woman to be published in English. Britain’s first and most famous MR Creative Writing was founded at the University of East Anglia and the first student was Ian McEwan! In 2006 Norwich became the first and only UK city to join the International Cities of Refuge Network which promotes free speech and supports persecuted writers.

Chris was a hard act to follow but Hannah Garrard, Programme Manager, did an excellent job. She highlighted the programme the National Centre for Writing ran to encourage young people to consider a career in the arts sector. As part of the Norfolk and Norwich Festival the Engage! Group put together a festival in a day which included programming 5 events, designing the logo and marketing, and managing the event on the day. The feedback the event received was extremely positive and the National Centre for Writing are planning on running a similar event for next year’s festival.

Everyone came away from the morning with fun Norwich facts to wow people with and a renewed excitement for the arts and culture sector in Norwich. We are certainly going to be taking advantage of some of the fantastic events and venues on our doorstep and encourage you to do the same!

Big thanks go to the team at the National Centre for Writing and Ginger Lily for providing us with some fantastic food.

You can find all the slides from the morning here and information about 1000 years of Norwich’s history here.  

What does the term Corporate and Social Responsibility (CS&R) mean to you? Chances are it is something that you associate with large scale companies who have budgets that enable them to make generous donations to good causes or are able to allow employees time off to do charitable work. However, there is plenty that even a sole trader can do to fulfil their own CS&R ambitions, which can be equally rewarding both for the business and for the recipients of their goodwill.

As a self employed florist and balloon decorator I deal with lots of requests on a regular basis asking for support in various forms. Having done a three year stint on our local school PTA I know only too well how difficult it is to generate support from local businesses to help boost often very small scale fundraising events. As a result, I choose to support certain local good causes in 3 different ways;

Raffle prizes with discount vouchers

With so many requests for raffle prizes, I now support a number of small scale events near me with a balloon arrangement and a discount voucher. A table of vouchers which may have considerable value on paper, can look quite uninspiring so by donating something visually attractive it can really encourage raffle ticket sales. It has even more impact when the charity gives permission for their logo to be replicated onto a balloon! The inclusion of a voucher also encourages the lucky recipient to redeem it against my products at a reduced rate.

Paid balloon décor with a charitable discount

For bigger events, larger scale décor is more appropriate but not so cost effective for me to just give away. Instead, I can apply a percentage discount which allows the charity to WOW their guests with some impactful décor at a more affordable price. Personalising balloons with the charity logo really brings the décor to life, and reinforces the branding message during the entire event.

  Free balloon décor

This year I have had the privilege of working with two amazing local good causes, whose stories have really touched me; littlelifts.

I first met Oa, who founded littlelifts, at a networking meeting where we took part in a comfort box packing event. Oa was diagnosed with primary breast cancer at just 28 years old. Having received lots of little packages and gifts during her treatment, Oa decided to give something back by creating comfort boxes containing items that help with the side effects of chemotherapy and other products that give a ‘little lift’ at a very difficult time. These boxes are now distributed to women at the start or during their treatment at various hospitals across East Anglia, and the boxes are funded as the result of money raised at various events.

At Easter, littlelifts ran a cupcake decorating workshop. I donated two balloon bouquets (including the littlelifts logo) and a stuffed rabbit raffle prize which drew a lot of attention! This event raised £500 which is enough to support 12 women facing chemotherapy for breast cancer.

To find out more about littlelifts and how you can support them, please go to www.littlelifts.org.uk

The other good cause I have chosen to support is Sunshine and Rainbows, a not for profit scheme run by local photographer Shellie Wall. Shellie offers free photography sessions for families with a child who has a life limiting or life threatening condition, and some local businesses contribute something towards a gift box that the family receive. I donate a personalised helium balloon which Shellie uses as part of the photoshoot, and whilst donating a single balloon is a small gesture for me, the impact on the children (who have all adored their balloons) is far, far greater. The smiles on their faces are priceless and melt my heart, and the photos themselves become absolutely priceless to the whole family if things take a turn for the very worst.

If you can donate anything to help Shellie keep this truly wonderful service going, please head to https://shelliewallphotography.co.uk/sunshine-rainbows/

Being able to give back is very important to me, and I truly believe that if all businesses could give a little something to a local cause, we could soon make an amazingly positive impact in our local communities!

If you’ve enjoyed this blog, why not have a look through some of my other Blogs!

Claire Carney is an independent florist, a Certified Balloon Artist and NABAS Approved Balloon Décor Instructor based near Norwich, Norfolk, UK.

I first met the lovely Martin and Nikki from Breakers cafe in Cromer back in April 19. Martin had been waiting for over 6 weeks for a card machine he had ordered from his banks recommended merchant service and was feeling completely let down. As the new owner of Breakers cafe the last thing Martin needed was to be messed around, he wanted to be able to offer his customers a way to pay by card and risked losing trade.

During my first meeting with Martin I knew I could help him, knowing how efficient me and my customer service team are, I was certain I could have Martin up and running in a matter of days. But low and behold whilst I was there, a DPD driver walked through the door holding the card machine he had ordered 6 weeks before.

So that awkward moment…. do you convince the customer that the card machine is a bag of spanners or do you just walk away. Well neither, I said “you need to do what’s right for you and your business and what’s going to get you up and running straight away. So can I help install it for you and show you how to use it?” Kindly declining my offer and apologising for the situation, I then left. But staying true to my belief that no matter what, I am here to help my local businesses even if that means I can only offer free advice. It’s often the case in my line of work that customers are not advised on how card processing works, whether that be how to use their card terminal correctly or how to avoid additional charges just because no one spent the time explaining things to them. Which is why we want to be different.

We don’t just send a customer a card machine and say get on with it. We fully explain how to prevent unnecessary charges, install the equipment and train them and their staff. A few days later Martin called and explained the card machine wasn’t suitable and could I go back to see him. Another reason it’s important for merchant services to take the time to figure out which type of card machine is best for a business. So that same day I returned to process his application and 4 days later I was back again completing the installation.

Now good to go, Martin could finally relax and focus on running his business. Knowing Martin was also keen to introduce a new epos system in the future, I made sure the card machine was suitable to integrate with this. Two months on and Breakers Cafe are now up and running with a new epos system, which we have supplied and helped add all the menus to, so that Martin could switch over to his new system over night. Like with any new software there are teething problems, and fully understanding this, I was on hand each day to make changes quickly. With 24/7 support provided by eposnow, Martin was also able to learn how to use the system through dedicated training sessions.

Now Breakers cafe is ready to tackle their first summer season, with a fantastic choice of menus (I highly recommend the Breakers Belly Buster) and an efficient system that allows them to have complete oversight of their business, staff and profit margins. And more importantly the ability to offer their customers an option to pay by card!.

It’s been pleasure to work with them and I wish them all the best for the future.

P.S if you are in Cromer make sure you pop in to Breakers cafe, you wont be disappointed ❤