It’s official - the summer holidays are in full swing and July is coming to a close! Before we embark on everything August has to offer, let’s share what we’ve been up to this month… that’s right, it’s time for our monthly highlights!
School’s out!
As school draws to a close for another academic year, Rhea’s highlight for July has been working closely with Bettws Lifehouse at Kingsland Grange. The special school delivers alternative education and is finishing its first year at its new home in Shrewsbury. Rhea has enjoyed seeing the huge difference the school is making to so many children. The work the school does is really fantastic and it’s such a privilege to be a part of it!
Outside of work, Rhea is a Beaver Scout leader and the end of term meant she got to see her new Beaver Scouts invested, and wave goodbye to those who are moving on to Cubs for their next exciting journey. It’s always a highlight for her to see how far the children have come, and to meet new faces.
The J&PR minis have finished up for the school year and this month Kirsty saw her eldest son choose Media for his House Arts option for next year and saw him win an award for his Year 9 English work. Maybe he’s following in his mum’s footsteps!
She’s definitely not still at school, but Freya has had some excellent academic news this month - she’s finally submitted her apprenticeship portfolio! This means she can go through ‘gateway’ and complete the final stages of her apprenticeship, and she hopes that will be August’s highlight.
More good news
From Freya’s good news to exciting client news! Si’s highlight of the month was the ballot result for our client, Shrewsbury BID. Every five years, businesses are asked to vote on whether they think the BID should continue, and they overwhelmingly voted in favour of Shrewsbury BID serving the communities of Shrewsbury for another five years. Nearly 95% of businesses voted “yes”, which is testament to the great work done by the team, and also the positive PR and media coverage we helped to generate. A big well done goes to Si for his great work with the BID!
Dani was very chuffed to secure some bespoke coverage for clients this month. She got our client Artisan Plastercraft in a theatre technicians magazine, and a health and safety recruitment & consultancy company in a sustainability magazine. Some very specific requests which came off, making new contacts along the way - well done Dani!
Training and events with J&PR!
On July 15th we had the pleasure of managing Aico’s social media platforms during its Family Fundraising Day at Brynkinalt Estate, raising money for The Movement Centre and Little Stars. A day full of sunshine and showers, covering the event was definitely Sophie’s professional highlight of the month.
The charity work continued for clients as Karen Whitehead of KEW Accountants and Tax Specialists in Telford braved a head shave in support of her friend who is undergoing chemotherapy. Tony loved covering this story and admired Karen’s bravery. Not only that, she set up a JustGiving page in the hope of raising £500 for Breast Cancer UK and so far she’s raised over £6,000!
Kirsty’s professional highlight for July was the packed programme of social media training courses we delivered to various groups including…
- One-to-one Two Hour Takeovers with a client who has just launched Shropshire Respiratory Diagnostics, and Martin Evans from Tandem Comms who wanted a refresher.
- Half day and full day courses on PR, Instagram and LinkedIn for Shropshire Chamber of Commerce members.
- A group training session for business owners in Surrey.
There was a lot of talking for Kirsty this month - no change there then!
Summer is here… sort of!
The weather is still trying to make its mind up, but that hasn’t stopped Si’s allotment! Si has been enjoying harvest time there - potatoes, climbing beans, kale, raspberries, strawberries and courgettes are all going well!
Freya enjoyed some “proper camping weather” with her family as they made their annual trip to the Upton Blues Festival. She said the weather was either scorching hot or torrential rain, so she’s come back both soggy and with tan lines!
Dani’s personal highlight should be her 15th wedding anniversary (which is the same day as Kirsty’s!) or seeing a university friend get married… but she’s going to be honest and say it was seeing Bruce Springsteen perform in Oslo! Anyone who knows Dani will know he is her favourite artist of all time. Bruce put on a fantastic show (for many hours!) and Dani enjoyed a great evening and weekend in Norway with her dad.
Home highlights
Tony has finally got a new boiler after his old one gave up the ghost. We’re sure he’ll benefit from that in the winter!
Sophie has all the joys of boiler issues to come, as this month she and her boyfriend started viewing properties to rent together! After being together for three years, Sophie is so excited for this next chapter with him.
