Community support
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Community support
Southampton Airport's charitable funding comes from the BAA Communities Trust, BAA's own charity. The trust was established over ten years ago, with the aim of putting something back into the local communities around BAA's airports.
Wherever possible, Southampton Airport tries to support projects which mitigate against our impacts, which means we are especially interested in community projects in close proximity to the airport. We look for causes which enable us to give our full support and actively get involved, rather than just giving financially.
Other priorities include:
- Projects with an environmental focus.
- Projects that provide educational and training opportunities for 14 - 21 year olds.
- Projects that create opportunities to build pride in the local community.
Recent projects include:
PUSH Ahead Challenge, south Hampshire
Community Play - The Point, Eastleigh
Bitterne Park School, Southampton
Fairbridge Solent - Live Well Project
Do you have a potential project for Southampton Airport?
PUSH Ahead Challenge, South Hampshire
Southampton Airport supported the 2010 search for South Hampshire's young entrepreneurs in the 'PUSH Ahead Challenge', as part of the airport’s centenary celebrations. The challenge was open to every school and college in South Hampshire, and saw teams of students designing and creating innovative products and services for use in an airport.
Community Play – The Point, Eastleigh
A new community play "When The Saintz Go Marching in" was created as part of the airport’s centenary celebrations, which followed the story of a break-in at a vintage aircraft hangar on the eve of the centenary celebrations. The gang of wayward youths encountered a mysterious old man whose extraordinary story changed their lives forever. The play was specially researched and written about Eastleigh. Performed at The Point theatre, the play starred over 60 local people from around the Eastleigh area.
Bitterne Park School Partnership, Southampton
Southampton Airport has a strategic partnership with Bitterne Park School, a local secondary school in Southampton with specialist status in performing arts. The partnership was launched in 2004, with the aim of sharing expertise and resources, linking business and education.
Each year there are around 20 initiatives, including; case studies, competitions, awards schemes, staff work-shadowing, joint fundraising, school governorships, and a full work experience programme which includes, letters of application, and competitive interviews. The airport has also supported a series of Enterprise Days for all 1,400 students at the school, culminating in a 'Dragon Den' style finale later in the year. The Specialist Schools and Academies Trust use the strategic partnership between the school and airport to create training resources for other UK schools.
For more information on the school, please visit bitterneparkschool.org.uk
Fairbridge Solent – ‘Live Well Project’
Southampton Airport supported the Fairbridge Solent ‘Live Well Project’, which saw young people from disadvantaged areas developing an allotment and growing produce for use in their cooking sessions, as well as participating in dedicated physical activity sessions.
To find out more about Fairbridge Solent, please visit fairbridge.org.uk.
Staff volunteering
Staff volunteering is very much supported by Southampton Airport. Each year BAA recognises its volunteers at the I-Volunteer Awards. Employees at all 7 airports enter the awards, as recognition for their hard work as well as for donations for their organisations. This year, 22 Southampton staff entered, providing more than £10,000 for local charitable organisations. Southampton Airport was recognised as having the best volunteering team within the whole of BAA for the initiatives run with Eastleigh College.
Do you have a potential project for Southampton Airport?
If you would like to apply to Southampton Airport for support, please write, giving full details, to: Debbie Chalk, Media and Communications Executive, Southampton Airport, Southampton, SO18 2NL.