OK, for those more observant of you, what on earth has a dress (see page title) got to do with running 10 miles and raising money for M3 Job Club?  No, I am not running in a dress, I am hoping the training and motivation you lovely lot give me through donations will mean that I can actually look not so shabby in my very unforgiving little blue dress I want to wear again this Christmas!!!

But on to more serious matters - what is M3 Job Club, why does it matter and why do I care?

The M3 Job Club is a small Hampshire based charity which supports those in careers transition back to work.  In nearly 5 years, we have smashed government figures and helped hundreds of people back into work with a high level of employability.  I am massively biased - I am one of the founding trustees - but I do believe that the programme we offer navigates the difficult paths to employment for those unemployed in this digital age.  The media will have you believe that all is hunky dory in the South East and as such decent employability help is not needed - whilst we may have a lower rate of unemployment, there are still locally based companies feeling the pinch and sadly, having to let go of staff.

This is where we step in - our workshops are free - anyone can attend as long as they are unemployed or facing redundancy.  Our fab trainers give their Friday mornings for nothing and coach and train mixed audiences to help them be proactive and take charge of their job search. We get a small grant from Basingstoke and Deane Council to cover room rents (which we could not exist without and we are ever so grateful) but that is it. To help ensuring everyone has a job seeking plan fit for purpose, we need more cash.  Cash for 1:1 coaching for those members in need of this, cash for our rent eventually and cash to simply keep us going.

£350 is my target - if I reach this, I will get £350 of matched funding from my employer, Vodafone - for us, this is a huge amount of money and I promise you, it will not be wasted!

So, please dig deep and help me to shrink, and our bank account to grow!

Gail x