A Wee Chat With...Our Community Champions
The SEC is privileged to support a huge variety of sectors through our incredible roster of events, but we’re equally as passionate about our place in Glasgow and the broader Scottish community. Our home city is a huge part of what makes us special, and we like to give back to it whenever we can.
We caught up with our Head of People, Hazel Goodfellow, Marketing Manager Liam McGarry and SEC Food’s Lorna Wilson to chat about some of our recent community focussed projects.
Hazel plays a key role in delivering our SEC Learning Journey. She said: “We’re hugely proud to say that over 2000 young people have taken part in the SEC Learning Journey since April 2023. A particular highlight this year came in November, when we were incredibly proud to support and host the Glasgow City Council Student Conference on campus.
The first of its kind event helped shape key decisions affecting children and young people in city schools, highlighting the importance of active citizenship and leadership. We work in partnership with the city and our delivery partners to deliver these projects.”
Hazel also works closely with our team as part of an ongoing relationship with Glasgow Children’s Hospital: “Our long-standing partnership with Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity includes the design, build and manning of a spectacular Santa’s grotto, complete with gifts for the youngsters who spend their festive period in hospital. We are committed to providing Santa and his team with the best experience when he visits Glasgow.
“As an organisation we have our very own year round “elves workshop” on site, with all the skills and tools of the trade to build something special! Working with Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity is a truly humbling experience, and if we can provide a little bit of magic in a difficult period for some, then that’s the best present our team could wish for.”
Another yearly highlight in the winter months comes in the form of One Day At Christmas, an annual initiative uniting the exhibitions industry, organised by our colleagues at Mash Media, to create a special experience for lonely people who wouldn’t otherwise have the opportunity to enjoy a Christmas celebration.
Liam Explained: “We’re always delighted with the energy and enthusiasm of the SEC team when it comes to getting involved in One Day at Christmas, and 2023’s event was no different. We upped our game this year hosting more guests than in 2022, and with a couple of additional experiences in the form of a rock choir and nail treatments, which were a brilliant build on last year, and were the perfect compliment to the festive meal provided by SEC Food. One Day at Christmas 2023 once again proved to be a fantastic day for all involved, and another moment our sector can look back on with pride. We’re already thinking about next year.”
The SEC has Scotland and its hugely diverse communities to thank for our success as a venue, so it’s only right that we take the opportunity to support our neighbours in Glasgow and beyond wherever we can. 2023 was a year of many highlights in that regard, and we’re looking forward to seeing what 2024 brings.
Food is a big part of our business, and it’s also a big part of how we support our community, whether that be through annual foodbank donations or via our continued efforts to reduce our food waste to below 1% by 2024.
Liam explained: “Every year, we have the opportunity to make a meaningful impact on the lives of others in our community via our annual Christmas Foodbank Donation. For 2023, we managed to collect 87kg and £170 for donation to the Glasgow NW Foodbank. The impact of our combined generosity is tangible, making a positive difference in the lives of those in our community during the festive season.”
Lorna Wilson of SEC Food explained more about our efforts to reduce food waste: “We’ve operated numerous initiatives as our food waste reduction strategy has evolved, and they have often been linked to helping those less fortunate in our communities. For example, we’ve recently entered into a partnership with Olio, which allows us to pass on the food we no longer need to people who live nearby. They can see what is available via the app, and come down to collect it. We’ve been running the partnership for around four months, and we’ve found it to be an excellent way of helping out our neighbours while simultaneously supporting our sustainability ambitions.”
Glasgow and Scotland makes the SEC who we are, so it’s our duty to look at ways we can give back to our communities. Fortunately, our team are never short of enthusiasm and ideas for how we can do this, and we thank them for the effort they continually put into giving back.