Barclaycard has been providing support to The Hoxton Apprentice for the past two years. During this time a strong relationship has been forged and we have worked together on a number of exciting initiatives that have involved colleagues using their time and expertise to support this fantastic business. These include:

• A new marketing plan which resulted in restaurant bookings doubling
• £55,000 worth of free press advertising
• Redesign and build of new website, newsletter, CMS & brand guidelines
• Half page free add in Thames Festival programme
• Funding for a financial literacy training coordinator
  

Barclaycard community programmes
Our community programme is an important part of our sustainability agenda. In 2008 over 4,100 Barclaycard employees raised over £1.5 million for charity and volunteered over 32,300 work hours to support the community.

Our commitment is a global one and we focus our support on three key areas:

• Banking on brighter futures - using our knowledge and expertise to make a difference
• Looking after local communities – supporting the communities where we live and work
• Charity begins at work – helping our colleagues help others

For more information about our community commitments visit www.barclaycard.com

Banking on brighter futures - Horizons is a pioneering scheme that helps lone parents create a better future for themselves and their children. 

The three elements to the programme are:

• Your Money – helpful money advice from Citizens Advice Bureaux
• Your Education - education and training grants from Family Action
• Your Work - helping you back to work with Gingerbread

Since we set up Horizons in 2005, we’ve invested over £4 million and helped more than 250,000 lone parents and their children. To find out more visit www.yourhorizons.com

Looking after local communities - Community Gifts
Community Gifts is part of Barclaycard’s commitment to support the communities where our employees live and work.

Since 2000, the campaigns have enabled Barclaycard to donate over £1.2 million to more than 300 different organisations and support nearly 42,000 beneficiaries in local communities around our key sites.

In the UK we run the campaigns in Cardiff, Glasgow, Liverpool, London, Northampton and Teesside. Internationally we run the campaigns in Delaware, US and Hamburg, Germany.

Charity begins at work – supporting our staff who to get involved in fundraising and volunteering.

At Barclaycard, we encourage and support our staff to work with the causes they care about most. We want to harness their energy, time and skills because we know they have a huge amount to give – and gain – by being involved.

Matched fundraising
We will match the money our staff raise for their chosen charity up to £750 (or local equivalent). And we’ll do this for each member of staff three times per year.

Volunteering
We actively encourage and support our colleagues who wish to help in their community by allowing them 2 days paid leave specifically for community based projects. From organising sporting activities for disadvantaged children, cooking meals at a homeless shelter, garden makeovers to teaching people about managing their money, there are hundreds of ways our staff share the skills they use every day at home or at work to benefit their local community

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Hoxton Apprentice is just one of the activities housed within the Prospect Centre at 16 Hoxton Square. The building is a partnership between Training For Life, Shoreditch Trust ,and the City of London.

Additional capital funding has been given by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and the London Development Agency.

Prue Leith originally designed the menu and still remains an active supporter of the restaurant.

We would also like to thank all those people and organisations that have contributed their time, money and expertise to help with the enterprise.