Corporate Partnerships, Corporate Volunteering, News
eKal Partnership
Our partnerships: eKal Solutions
Recently, eKal Solutions Chief Operating Officer Kenny and CEO Rob, were delighted to visit the Grassmarket and enjoyed seeing their new plaque on our celebration wall. The plaque acknowledges the growing partnership with GCP and their generous support.
‘GCP has values of teamwork and community which really resonate with us. We are not just giving but learning and understanding and when members tell you of difficult personal situations, it makes us privileged to be involved.’ (Kenny, COO eKal Solutions)
eKal Solutions first worked with GCP on a number of volunteer days, painting walls and cutting out tartan for the Workshop, as Kenny explains, ‘It was great. We have an HQ in Edinburgh and it’s good to support local worthwhile causes. Kevin took us round and we met members. It was really powerful to hear their stories and share lunchtime with them.’ Since the initial volunteering sessions, their involvement has deepened.
Kenny continues, ‘We are proud to be a B. Corp Certificate company, the only one in our sector, and as part of our commitment we have to ensure we are giving back to the community but working with GCP has always been much more than a tick box exercise. We are helping with IT classes as well as improving the charity’s overall systems. One-to-one time with members changes your view of the place and their stories of how they get back on their feet are inspiring. Even our Chief Finance Officer pops into GCP for lunch sometimes.’
eKal Solutions is a business-to-business organisation which specialises in cloud-based applications for clients https://www.ekalsolutions.com/ They help configure and install Oracle supported systems which ensure the likes of HR, payroll, financial and general ledger systems are integrated and run smoothly and efficiently. As part of our growing partnership, eKal are currently reviewing the Grassmarket’s processes for free and helping install more efficient systems. This is a huge and necessary project which will improve the entire way we operate as a charity.
eKal have been particularly supportive of IT, giving equipment such as Mice and recently ensuring we can access, free of charge, to Microsoft training programmes and videos. ‘These short, snappy courses should really help Kevin and the team complement what members learn in IT classes, particularly around development of individual technical skills, as well as learning how to manage personal data, online security and understand the implications of digital footprints’.
Kevin is delighted with the opportunity to use the courses, ‘It is fantastic that the door has been opened on such a wealth of material which will really help our IT Sessions. Working with short, specific courses means we can tailor learning to members needs and help fill in the gaps in their knowledge. This will help build their confidence, knowledge and create more resilience online. We couldn’t have done this without Kenny and the team.’
Kenny is keen to build relationships further, ‘We hope to hire GCP’s facilities for meetings, we also hope to do more volunteer days and Kevin can always ask for more, if we can do it, we will certainly try and help’.
A huge thank you to Kenny and the team, we look forward to working with you more in the future.
A BIG THANK YOU
The Grassmarket Community Project’s Members Programme relies on the generosity of our customers, funders and donors. Our key funders for this area of our work are Nationwide Community Grants, The Robertson Trust and EVOC/Scottish Government Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund. We thank them for their essential continued support.
