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Business charity BW3 has unveiled new branding to mark its 20th birthday.

The organisation – which stands for Business Working With Wythenshawe – also announced a series of new programmes as it marked the milestone at a special event for its members.

BW3’s mission is to support the economic and social well-being of Wythenshawe, with a series of well-established initiatives to raise aspirations and provide career paths for local young people.

It has more than 250 members, who volunteer time and expertise to deliver mentoring sessions, careers talks and other activities in schools.

BW3 also runs a series of events to help businesses grow and network with each other, the latest of which was the UK headquarters of pharmaceuticals company Chiesi.

It was at that event that the charity’s new branding was revealed, with a new logo, website and special emblem to mark the 20th birthday.

The event gave BW3 the chance to speak to members about its core programmes, such as Aspirational Mentoring, Numbers at Work and its School of the Year scheme.

Chair Adam Jupp also revealed plans for a number of new initiatives, including:
– BW3 Experiences – a scheme that will see young people from Wythenshawe schools taken to arts venues in the region, treated to shows and given access to special workshops
– Reading Mentoring – building on a successful pilot over the past 12 months, the expanded scheme will see high school students mentor those in primaries, and more mentors trained from the BW3 membership to benefit even more high school students than the prior year
– IT in Action – a dedicated initiative to show young people the careers available to those with strong IT skills

The organisation also revealed plans for a celebration event later in the year, and to survey members about what they want from their membership.

Adam Jupp said: “Everyone associated with BW3 is immensely proud of the impact it has had over the past 20 years. A lot has changed since 2002 – but one thing that has remained the same is our commitment to improving lives in Wythenshawe, which is why it was exciting to announce a series of bigger and better programmes as we emerge from the pandemic, and to unveil our fantastic new branding.”

At the event, a panel discussion was held on the merits of different approaches to CSR and sustainability, including from Chiesi itself, which has established itself as a B-CORP.

Adam Freeman, of MAG, also spoke about its long-term commitment to this agenda, including being a founding member of BW3.

And guests were treated to a talk from Charlotte Cooper, assistant head of St Paul’s High School – the current BW3 High School of the Year. She was joined by students who have decided to become mentors themselves, who described how transformational BW3’s reading mentoring scheme has been.

Mrs Cooper told the audience how the work of BW3 had led to a successful Ofsted visit just one week earlier.

The event also heard from Clare North, of Wythenshawe Community Initiative, who talked about its own ambition for the future, including a rebrand and plans to transform its base.

The new identity for BW3 was developed by The Agency Creative.