Soft Touch have been very lucky to be one of the charities Niche Magazine have been supporting over the past 18 months. Jenny Cross and her team give so much to the local business community by providing networking opportunities, making connections that are mutually beneficial and through their amazing magazine. They also make a huge effort to give back to the community by supporting local charities.
Niche have really helped to raise the profile of Soft Touch within the Leicestershire business community which means a lot to us as a small charity without the resources to commit to regular marketing, PR and promotion.
They have also opened up opportunities for talented young people who come through our projects to get on to the ladder to work as creative practitioners. Lewis Buttery who came to Soft Touch 4 years ago with low self-esteem after dropping out of college has been able to develop his creative skills through getting involved in Soft Touch projects. As a talented young artist and photographer, Niche has given him the opportunity to gain valuable experience by attending some of their networking events as photographer. This has increased his confidence and photography skills to the point where he is now getting contacted directly for commissions. Jenny has also given talks and advice to groups of young people about how to promote and market their artwork for exhibitions and events – a great way for our young people to meet and get inspired by local business leaders.
In January, Niche held their first networking event of 2016 at 50 New Walk. They gave us the opportunity to talk about our work and show local business people around our building. They have also contributed to our campaign to raise funds to finish our building through sponsoring a brick. We were thrilled to be voted to be one of their chosen charities at the inaugural Niche Business Awards in 2015 where we also won an award in the ‘Shaping Tomorrow’s Leaders’ category. They truly do “support local”.
