Home » Business » Commercial Property

Commercial Property

The Act of Giving by Richard Larking, Partner & Head of Commercial Property at AMS 

It’s easy for companies to examine their CSR commitments when times are hard, but the staff at Ashton Morton Slack, have continued to contribute to good causes – something that the company supports wholeheartedly.

For example, Ashley Knight, a fee earner assistant here, devotes a lot of her spare time working as a coordinator to children and teenagers who attend the youth club at Arbourthorne and similar centres around the Sheffield area. The Arbourthorne centre became a little tired and in great need for a lick of paint, so Ashton Morton Slack donated some desks for the centre and some staff helped with decorating and the electrics.

Each year Ashton Morton Slack selects a Christmas charity through the Cares programme which is set up by BITC (Business in the Community).

This year, the firm selected the Wybourn Youth Trust. Our staff generously donated a wide selection of gifts which were taken down to Wybourn Youth Trust in the middle of December. The gifts were then handed out to some of the children who attend the centre during a Christmas party – they were delighted.

We have four members of staff who take part in the BITC Right to Read scheme. The staff go into schools and help the pupils read for a couple of hours per week.

Christy Chilton, a trainee solicitor here at AMS, attends meetings with the BITC Pro Help group which consists of representatives from local professional groups. The BITC group receive applications from local community groups for assistance with new projects and these are allocated to the appropriate firm(s), who assist, initially on pro bono/reduced fee basis. This works to help new businesses/projects get going and also to assist community groups with limited funds to move things forward.

These are some of the projects we get involved in. It is easy for companies to say there is no time to help but each little effort means a great deal  to those who benefit and staff find their commitments so rewarding.

Article appeared in FFB magazine May 2010.