Sharing is caring in the community

Lancashire born and bred, we’re very proud of our roots at Apple Transcription.

So much so, we decided we should ‘put our money where our mouth is’ and do something about it…

Our team held a powwow and everyone agreed that some positive action to support our local community was long overdue.

But how could we help?

With the aim of tapping into what we could do to make a difference, our team spent days racking their brains and carrying out local research to see where help might be needed. After some serious soul-searching, drawing on our individual lives as well as our own personal and professional experience, we soon realised that the answer was staring us in the face all the time!

In our everyday work, we are involved with real people in the community who, through no fault of their own, experience crime, homelessness, domestic and other abuse and mental health problems, to name just a few.

Indeed, in previous voluntary roles, our team members have supported victims of abuse and other crime when bringing vital evidence to the law courts, they’ve volunteered in contact centres, and one was even appointed to the Magistracy.

We’re proud to announce that after careful consideration, it was a unanimous team decision to champion Positive Action in the Community, PAC was established in 1997 to meet the needs of the community which were not being met through statutory provision or by other organisations, particularly in the areas of youth homelessness, domestic abuse and mental wellbeing.

They are a local registered charity with the vision to have a community that gives the greatest opportunity for a safe, fulfilled and aspirational life, free from homelessness, domestic abuse and poor mental health.

To achieve this they deliver a number of projects that include: supported accommodation, community based support, support in educational settings, counselling, training, and personal development opportunities.

All their services provide specialist support on an individual basis to empower people to build emotional resilience, improve their health and wellbeing, make positive choices, and to have fulfilled and independent lives.

As we weren’t geared up to provide practical, on-the-ground assistance, how could we help to share their load?

Simple – do what we do best – transcribe!

Members of our team were eager to offer their own time to transcribe some of PAC’s regular Board and annual meetings. This was met by a delighted PAC seal of approval.

This would mean that PAC and their associates could get on with what they do best, allowing us to take away the hassle of arduous note taking. This solution offered the added benefit of enabling all PAC team members to fully participate in the meetings, leaving them free from the laborious task of scribbling copious notes, whilst capturing every utterance, and the time-consuming chore of writing these up in legible form for circulation.

But why stop there? What else could we do to help in what are for many such difficult times?

We decided to hold a charity fundraising event, aiming to share the proceeds amongst PAC’s projects and to prove that we would go to great heights to show that we really care.

Nothing seemed more fitting than to emulate the ‘unknown wonder woman’ (featured) and abseil down Peel Tower on Holcombe Hill, a local and treasured National Trust landmark. The event will take place later this year, in October… and the idea caused so much excitement amongst the charity’s various arms that nine people from the PAC team put themselves forward to join in.

We are sure that great things will come from this joint venture, where groups of like-minded people come together for the benefit of the community and prove that sharing really is caring.