The Business Exchange Swindon & Wiltshire Edition 49: June/July 2020 | Page 12

Alistair Cunningham & Terence
Alistair Cunningham and Terence
Herbert are Wiltshire Council’s Joint
Chief Executives. Both have worked for
Wiltshire Council for many years and
took up their new roles in January this
year. The council has been nominated
for communicating often with local
businesses trying to access funding.
“Most of our staff are now working from
home delivering essential services without
even having to leave the house. We also have
staff out delivering critical services to ensure
our most vulnerable residents are kept safe.
We have redeployed an additional 400 staff
to support services and are really pleased
with the speed at which we have refocused
our efforts to support our communities and
Anthony Brown
businesses. We have set up the Wiltshire
Wellbeing Hub which has supported over
10,000 of our most vulnerable residents. It’s
open seven days a week to support people
who might not have any family or friends
around them.
“We have also worked with communities
across Wiltshire to oversee the creation
of local community support groups.
We now have over 400 groups offering
support including collecting prescriptions,
picking up shopping for neighbours. We’ve
developed community toolkits to offer advice
and support to those groups and have a
community directory which contains details
of all of the groups.
“A business contact centre was set up to
Debbie So
Anthony Brown is from OHM Clothing Ltd, based in
Swindon, a family business which started in 2011 offering
clothing for schools, businesses, the military and charities.
It’s run by husband and wife team Anthony and Jemma,
although currently Jemma is furloughed. This company has
been nominated for reacting to a bad situation and making
the best of it.
“We had to close our two shops as soon as the government
announced non-essential retail premises should shut. Orders
slowly petered out as businesses across the country started to
stop and slow down. We stopped all main production at the end
of March, so as to keep our staff safe. All our staff have been
furloughed since then.
“But I have remained working and doing everything to keep
things ticking along. We have been lucky and have got a job
which we hope gives back as well as keeps us going – we’ve
provided clothing for the Great British Campout, that not only
has saved the business, it’s raised £10,000 for NHS Charities
Together,” Anthony said.
The Great British Campout At Home was the idea of
Ian Alcorn from Nottinghamshire where keen campers or
caravanners were asked to camp out at home and donate £2
for the NHS. By providing branded clothing for that initiative
this small business has survived and helped raise thousands
of pounds. “This experience has prompted us to launch a new
business, Omega Charities, where we will host and send to
supporters, branded clothing for charities at absolutely no
risk or financial outlay for them, helping them create brand
awareness and funds, as well as controlling their brand. It’s
massively exciting.
“We’ve also, we hope, helped some of our suppliers survive.
We engaged with our screen printer, Hartmoor, who have
printed over 2500 items of clothing in the last four weeks.
Throughout we have remained ethical and transparent and not
made a ‘killing’ financially, but enough to keep our heads above
water and remain viable. It’s been incredible really.
“We’re now restructuring. It will be hard however we have to
be leaner and work smarter. We won’t be having walk-in shops
any more. From now on everything will be by appointment and
click and collect/delivery.
“Therefore our website will be overhauled and will work
keenly for us.”
Not far away in Pewsey, Debb
of People Business Psycholog
dresser, also took up needle a
nominated for her commitme
ing staying up until the early h
She said, “The new social distan
business - hanging up my sciss
along with a halt on some proje
consultancy, especially those n
“We realised that its not only
which has become more impor
others during difficult times. W
short videos encouraging other
themselves and focus on the sim
mental health being paramoun
“I came across a Facebook G
Scrubs – set up by a nurse who
was becoming difficult. The Fac
speed that the site became imp
groups were popping up with eq
join all of them, grabbing whate
downloaded a pattern and set t
a certain weight and type – easi
a local friend who offered to hel
She was glad to have found a n
“Within hours money was dr
the locals were delighted to fun
to come, so I started making m
I could find for care homes des
Eventually, 50 metres of fabric a
non-stop ever since.
“I do feel a sense of social re
have the capability to help with
a responsibility to do so. I feel a
that I tried to do my little bit to h
head-on. My main reason for se
a selfish one. I need to feel usef
back. I’m enjoying the challeng
what I feel is right. And now I ha
what else can I do with it? Perh
Watch this space!”