YOTEL Edinburgh has agreed to host local charity Smart Works Edinburgh in a free working space one day a month for the next six months in the city centre hotel.
This follows a call out on social media for local charities and non-profits to be nominated by YOTEL’s local community. Smart Works Edinburgh will now be able to use the hotel’s meeting space. This will provide a fresh and engaging environment for the charity to develop its work in the local community, plan for future corporate partnerships and also host staff training days, with an ambitious plan to double the number of women it helps by 2025.
Opening its doors to local charities for International Women’s Day in Edinburgh and other cities, the hotel group asked for charity submissions across social media, with nominations for organisations doing incredible work for or with women.
Smart Works Edinburgh is part of the UK charity Smart Works, and helps unemployed women across Scotland gain the confidence they need to succeed at job interviews. Its free services include one-to-one interview coaching plus a bespoke dressing facility, with women referred to the charity from job centres, mental health charities, women’s refuges, the prison service, homeless shelters and care services. The dressing service consultation with trained volunteers helps clients find a high-quality interview outfit that will boost their confidence. The local charity’s work is truly transformational, with 95% of women feeling more confident about succeeding at their next interview following their appointment, and 93% more aware of their strengths and skills. Around 69% of Smart Works clients go on to get the job within a month of their appointment.
The charity hosts various fundraising events throughout the year, with 2022’s calendar including; spring and autumn fashion events for guilt-free, sustainable shopping with designer, vintage and one-off sample items for sale, plus a special charity concert event at Edinburgh’s Usher Hall in June. More information on the charity’s events and services can be found at www.edinburgh.smartworks.org.uk
Maggie Darling, founding Trustee of Smart Works and Chair of the Edinburgh centre says YOTEL Edinburgh’s generous offer could not have come at a better time. She said: “Faced with the devastating consequences of the pandemic on female employment, our simple and transformative services have never been more needed. The need for an expansion of our service is clear – our ambitious new Three Year Plan aims to double the number of women we help across the UK from 5000 to 10,000 by 2025.
“Having the use of YOTEL Edinburgh’s meeting space will allow us to meet with new and existing referral partners and expand the work we do to encourage more corporates to partner with us. It means we will have a place to hold dedicated staff and volunteer training and meetings so that our existing centre has more space in which to help more clients.
“We have exciting plans for Smart Works Edinburgh this year. We now have somewhere to meet, to help make those plans reality. YOTEL is helping us empower more women to be the best they can be.”
As a small thank you for all of their work in Edinburgh’s local community, YOTEL Edinburgh has also offered the founder a complimentary overnight stay for two in the hotel for the charity to use however it wishes. Smart Works Edinburgh has chosen to raffle off the overnight stay as part of its upcoming event calendar.
Charity submissions were whittled down to a shortlist of five organisations spotlighted on YOTEL Edinburgh’s social media channels this month, encouraging followers to explore the incredible work these non-profits are doing in their local communities.
YOTEL Edinburgh’s charity shortlist was; Smart Works Edinburgh, White Ribbon Scotland, Shakti Women’s Aid, S.H.I.E.L.D Fife, and Edinburgh’s Women’s Aid.
Stuart Douglas, General Manager at YOTEL Edinburgh said, “We’re delighted to welcome Smart Works Edinburgh into the hotel over the next few months, after some incredible submissions from our local community in Edinburgh. We’re also working with the charity to provide support in additional areas; whether through clothing donations or space for future events – we’re looking forward to continuing to work with them whichever way we can.”
Aiming to give back to their local communities, YOTEL offered an inspiring space to work and collaborate in four cities in the UK, with hotels in London, Manchester, Edinburgh and Glasgow taking part and hoping to provide organisations with room to grow in a welcoming and friendly environment in their city-centre hubs.
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
