Local Youth Charity leads rewards scheme in voluntary sector

YMCA North Staffordshire, has formed a ground breaking partnership with Vivo an award-winning company which delivers online and mobile rewards solutions..

The partnership has seen the YMCA North Staffs becoming the national pilot scheme to trial the system in the voluntary sector.

The Vivo platform, which is already used by over 1 million people in mainstream education in the UK,  has been adapted to use in the voluntary sector to reward members for activities that aid the organisation.

Members are given a secure login to the Vivo Platform where they will be able to see what they can do to be rewarded with Vivos. They can then track their Vivo balance and transactions and spend their points on an exciting range of products and offers or perhaps even donate them to charity. Offers currently include vouchers for shopping, travel, meals and gym memberships.

An additional benefit of the Vivo Platform is that it also creates a personal “social CV” , so users can share all the positive things they have done with their friends and family, or to support applications for further education or employment.

Business Development Officer Nicky Twemlow who has been the leader of the scheme within the YMCA said 

"The scheme has been running for over a month and has been very well received by our customers. With youth unemployment at an all-time high and cuts to youth provision, this is an excellent way to keep young people involved positively in their communities and for them to get rewards for their time and effort "

YMCA Customer David Cartilidge said 

"My experience of Vivo has been really positive. I do a lot of voluntary work within the community as it helps my cv and the search for work, and Vivo has motivated me to do even more. It makes me feel valued and inspires me to do better. An example of this is the funding I've attracted for the "Dirty Devils" motorcross team for all young people across North Staffordshire. It has actually made me think I could run a business."

Developments are set to see the scheme rolled out to more community and voluntary networks in the North Staffordshire area with meetings currently being arranged to facilitate this. The platform also enables local businesses to support young people in their communities by sponsoring the scheme or even donating rewards to the online Marketplace.

Adrian Burt, Managing Director, of Vivo said

"We are delighted that the Vivo platform has had such a positive impact on the YMCA and will continue to enhance the solution to accommodate the exciting and innovative ways the team at the YMCA wish to engage with their community. Our vision is to support good causes and connect those who wish to get involved with the causes that really need the support. The YMCA scheme is a perfect example of exactly how this works and is already attracting a lot of interest from other like-minded schemes and organisations nationally."

Vivo and YMCA North Staffs are now welcoming interested parties who wish to find out how they can get involved,  support the scheme and benefit their own organisation too.

We have included a short video that includes more about the scheme.

Companies and organisations wishing to find out more about how to get involved should contact  Clementina Elphinstone at Vivo Rewards on 0800 043 8486 or Nicky Twemlow at YMCA on 07969 951 2021.

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