BIG Gig with Oxfordshire Mind

Oxfordshire Mind is renowned for providing advice and support to people in Oxfordshire who are experiencing mental health problems.  The services, which include an information line, crisis centres and peer support groups, are a lifeline to many in Oxfordshire. Last year we supported over 30,000.

An expanding area of Oxfordshire Mind’s work, is the support provided to companies.  This support is delivered primarily through training sessions, ranging from Working Well from Home workshops to fully accredited Mental Health First Aid training. Increasingly employers are recognising the importance on supporting the mental health of the workforce and demand is surging.

The training services give us an opportunity to offer support and education to the business community, while also generating much needed revenue for the charity.

When Paul Essery invited Oxfordshire Mind to take part in the Big Gig we jumped at the opportunity.  Paul explained the basis of the evening; a presentation of our business model and what we were aiming to achieve.  In our case, marketing, business development and positioning were at the top of our list of areas to discuss.

Following our presentation and questions from the audience, the room of 40+ business professionals and entrepreneurs, broke into teams to brainstorm ideas.

Each group then presented their findings to us, with insights drawn from hundreds of years of collective experience.  A private consultation with Frank Nigriello during the brainstorming session further provided us with insights from the perspective of Unipart Group, a blue-chip company, and from Paul, a professional sales coach.

After the event we analysed which of the findings we were able to implement in the short term and which could be implemented as part of a longer-term strategy for improving our offering to corporate clients.

As a result of the Big Gig we received several invitations for 1-1 meetings, offers of assistance and partnerships from participants and even from people who had heard about the event but couldn’t attend.

Through the Big Gig, Oxfordshire Business First are facilitating an invaluable opportunity to support local businesses. The event provides a unique model for networking, whereby everybody in the room is working collaboratively, sharing advice and experience for the benefit of the Oxfordshire business community. We are very grateful to Paul and Frank for hosting us and to everyone who took part and those who continue to support Oxfordshire Mind.

To hear more about our workplace wellbeing training portfolio or corporate partnership opportunities please get in touch.

James Richardson
Relationship Manager
Oxfordshire Mind
www.oxfordshiremind.org.uk
corporatepartnerships@oxfordshiremind.org.uk
07394 566 845
trainingenquiries@oxfordshiremind.org.uk
07394 566 846