A Swap Shop group launched to encourage businesses to share their services has gone national.
Back in the autumn the schemed expanded into Leicester which followed in the footsteps of Nottingham and Derby by getting its own group.
Working along the lines of the original Noel Edmonds TV show, it allows individuals, small businesses and charities in need of a product or service to sign up and offer something in return.
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Examples of the things it could be used for might be a restaurant in need of some IT support in exchange for a meal for four; a seamstress looking for a logo, offering some masks/PPE/uniform in return; or an admin assistant on the look-out for some printing in exchange for their expertise.
Rachel Hayward of bid writing consultancy Ask the Chameleon launched the original Derby Swap Shop earlier in the summer to help SMEs in the city hit hard by lockdown.
That was set up in partnership with Derby triathlon sportswear business Huub and creative and design agency think3.
A Notts Swap Shop followed, supported by the Nottingham Library and IP Centre and Nottingham CVS.
The Leicestershire one was set up with Nicola Moss of start-up social media management business Moss Social, Jessica Southworth of admin support provider Your Sidekick, and former probation officer and Mosaic charity worker Sonia Viner.
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The national site – https://theukswapshop.co.uk/ – is now live.
Rachel Hayward said: “We have been overwhelmed with support for Swap Shops in the East Midlands and seen a positive response from small businesses and charities alike to help each other to get through this.
“We were contacted from businesses across the 海角视频, from Kent, Peterborough and beyond, wanting to know if we were launching a swap shop in their areas.
“When Lockdown 2 took hold, we knew we couldn’t wait any longer. We had to launch a national swap shop.”
Tracy Harrison from Safe and Sound, a Derby charity which supports at risk and exploited children, was one of the first to be a part of the swapping revolution.
She said: “Swap Shop is about helping each other and being flexible.”
Things that have been swapped across the East Midlands include support with social media, coaching, filming and photography, legal advice and testimonials for start-up businesses.
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Any small business or charity can create an account for free, write out their swap on the website and the team then uses social media across Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram to find suitable matches.
Dean Jackson from Huub said: “The Swap Shop will build on our experience locally of running area-based swapping over the past six months.
“Every day we hear about new partnerships and opportunities arise out of those initial swaps and members are coming back time and time again to see what else is on offer and who they can help.
“It goes to show how much we can support each other using a model that plays homage to our childhood.”
Gaz Jones from think3, the creative agency responsible for designing the platform, said: “This national free-to-use platform is the ideal place for charities and small businesses across the 海角视频 to connect and support each other, opening up new and exciting possibilities from all over the country.
“We are proud to have built a way to get through this together.”