As the world continues to grapple with the ongoing Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, it is reassuring to note that despite so much uncertainty and bad news some businesses are not only surviving, but thriving.
EarlyBird Lifestyle Support (EBLS), an award winning, friendly well-being service, has found the pandemic presented the opportunity to expand their workforce and move into a larger office space within BG Futures Business and Enterprise Centre at Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU).
Originally based in a smaller unit within the Centre, EBLS, created and run by BGU students Damian Taylor (MA Health and Social Care Leadership) and Neil Martin (MA Education with TESOL) prides itself on striving to empower the most vulnerable in society to lead the life of their choosing.
Damian expands:
“We support people throughout the city of Lincoln and surrounding areas with tasks such as cooking, cleaning, collecting prescriptions and medication, food shopping, trips out, escorting individuals to appointments and more.
We work with many groups left most vulnerable due to COVID-19, primarily our older clients but also younger individuals suffering from mental health or other disability related problems.
Ultimately our team works to promote independence for vulnerable people, allowing them to lead their choice of lifestyle. That choice can be so easily lost at times like this and I’m proud to think we’re helping them to keep some level of freedom.”
Damian explains that the success of EBLS is owed to his dedicated team of support professionals:
“I’d like to thank all our staff for their hard work during this time. Their enthusiasm and professionalism haven’t dropped once. They’re truly the backbone to the business, and we wouldn’t be where we are today without them.
We are also delighted to announce the appointment of Alex Aslan, who has also completed the MA Health and Social Care Leadership, as our new Care and Services Manager who has a wealth of knowledge in this field. This means our service can grow even bigger and reach a larger demographic of people within Lincolnshire and also supports us to now enter the world of running regulated services.”
On moving into a bigger office space, Damian hints at EBLS’s next venture:
“A larger office will allow us to expand our workforce, provide more support in the community and presents the opportunity to increase revenue and to create stronger connections in the network. The larger space provides practical solutions to social distancing guidance, so we are able to hold inductions and training sessions in a safe environment to ensure our service runs safely.
We are almost at the end of the registration period for the Care Quality Commission which means we will be able to include other vital services to our remit. We are currently recruiting for a new apprentice administrator and applications are still open for support worker roles.”
Support from EarlyBird is available to anyone in Lincolnshire and the surrounding area, to find out how they can help you can visit their website, or get in contact via email or phone on 01522 424161.
Damian added:
“The team at the BG Futures Business & Enterprise Centre have been such a vital service & support network for us. They really did go above and beyond to help us in our start-up journey and the most exciting thing is that we have been able to support the centres vision by incorporating our business to widen the support to students.
We have supported the BA Health and Social Care with work experience placements and offer voluntary opportunities to all students who would like to get involved, we are also happy to offer mentoring to students seeking an insight into business and would strongly welcome any students of the University to come and get involved in what we do. For example: be it students from drama who would like to put on a show for our vulnerable service users or those in the field of social sciences wanting to further understand mental health, disability or aged care, we really do welcome and encourage collaborative working”
Damian and Neil are the one of the many success stories to emerge from the BG Futures Business and Enterprise Centre at Bishop Grosseteste University.
If joining our community of start-up businesses appeals to you find out more on our website or contact the BG Futures team.