Between poverty and a better life, there’s a bridge – Cisco to help The Trussell Trust address social inequality …

Today, Cisco is announcing a partnership with The Trussell Trust, a charity that supports a network of foodbanks across the UK, to help further their mission to end hunger and poverty in the UK.

The UK is the 2ndlargest economy in Europe[1], yet use of foodbanks across the nation is reaching critical levels. In the last year alone, foodbanks in the UK provided more than 1.3 million three-day emergency food supply packages.

With more than 1,200 franchised centres supported by 40,000 volunteers throughout England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, The Trussell Trust has a diverse base of operations; from managing the logistics of collections and donations, to the practicalities of helping people get the support they need so that they never need to use a foodbank again.

In a dedicated partnership, Cisco will work with The Trussell Trust to address three key challenges; in the short-term to help people referred to foodbanks get access to emergency food quicker; in the medium-term to help enable volunteers to spend more time helping people (enabled by improved access to resources and training); and in the longer-term, to help the Trust address the complex drivers of hunger and poverty in the UK through data.

Emma Revie, Chief Executive, The Trussell Trust “As a nation, we expect that no one should be left hungry or destitute – however illness, disability, family breakdown or the loss of a job could happen to any of us, and we need to make sure sufficient support is in place when we need it most. We want to see a future where no one needs a foodbank because everyone has enough money coming in and is anchored from being swept into poverty by a crisis. We’re delighted to have the support of Cisco and the expertise, time and commitment of its employees to help us make a difference to people’s lives in the UK.”

Scot Gardner, Chief Executive, Cisco UK & Ireland added “We’re extremely humbled to be partnering with The Trussell Trust. Poverty is an issue that no one can ignore, and the work of the Trust and it’s volunteers is truly inspiring.” He added “We believe that every industry, every organisation and every individual in the UK should benefit from progress in new technology – whether directly or indirectly. From closing the digital divide to supporting organisations like The Trussell Trust towards their goals, we have the opportunity as an industry to use technology to help make meaningful change for society.”

The partnership will see Cisco and its employees in the UK:

1. Help The Trussell Trust understand and utilise their data.In partnership with the Trust, Cisco will help define and build key use cases where better use of data is anticipated to have the most valuable impact; from having a clearer understanding of stock, connecting food banks to each other and to food retailers, to understanding the underlying causes driving foodbank use and the ways people can be helped out of crisis.

2. Provide technical guidance; including on issues such as GDPR, cybersecurity, networking infrastructure and their use of technology to support more flexible and productive ways of working.

3. Announce The Trussell Trust as an official Cisco UK charity.Cisco will create a dedicated programme to encourage and enable employees to support The Trussell Trust through donation and volunteering opportunities, both individually and as teams.

Every Cisco employee has five days a year ‘Time2Give’ to volunteer for causes that matter to them. In the last year alone, Cisco employees in the UK volunteered over 25,000 hours to their chosen charities, with employee donations and Cisco matching in the UK reaching over $500,000.

Today’s announcement is the latest example of Cisco’s commitment to support digitisation in the UK. Cisco’s Country Digital Acceleration(CDA) strategy is a long-term partnership with government, industry and academia to deliver real outcomes faster and more effectively for the country.

ENDS

About The Trussell Trust
The Trussell Trust is here to end hunger and poverty in the UK. We support a network of 428 foodbanks, operating out of more than 1200 centres across the UK. It takes more than food to end hunger. We do three things: support our network to provide emergency food to people referred; help foodbanks provide additional support to resolve the cause of foodbank referral; and bring together the experiences of hundreds of communities on the frontline to challenge the structural issues that lock people in poverty. We’re campaigning for long-term change so we can see a future without the need for foodbanks. Read more at www.trusselltrust.org

About Cisco

Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide technology leader that has been making the Internet work since 1984. Our people, products, and partners help society securely connect and seize tomorrow’s digital opportunity today. Discover more at thenetwork.cisco.com and follow us on Twitter at @Cisco.

Cisco and the Cisco logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Cisco and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. A listing of Cisco's trademarks can be found at www.cisco.com/go/trademarks. Third-party trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners. The use of the word partner does not imply a partnership relationship.

[1] https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-eurostat-news/-/DDN-20180511-1?inheritRedirect=true

Originally Posted at: https://emear.thecisconetwork.com/site/content/lang/en/id/9904