Social Responsibility

Ideal Rooms is proud of our Social Responsibility programme.  Our main focus is to help and empower others, particularly those who are in disadvantaged situations to improve their own lives.  In line with our core values, we wanted to support orphans in the country of our parental heritage, Bangladesh.  We felt that as a property company, it would be fitting to make financial contributions to the living expenses of orphans and children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

We have searched thoroughly for a sustainable project we can support in Bangladesh, which helps orphans and children from disadvantaged backgrounds.  We have been sponsoring the ‘Ankur’ school in Dhaka, Bangladesh.  We were fortunate to visit the school for the first time in October 2010.  We were impressed with the tenacity of the children and the passion the teachers’ had in empowering these young children to aspire for better lives.

The ‘ANKUR’ school is based in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh.  Over 69 million people in Bangladesh live below the poverty line.

The first Sir William Beveridge Foundation School is being established in Dhaka, serving destitute and underprivileged children.  The school provides them with basic education and help them enjoy their childhood in an institutional setting with secular democratic values.

Places are aimed at children aged 5–12 years of age usually living with or without their parents/family in shanty areas – priority is given to hard to reach children – and whose parents monthly income is less than 2,500 BDT per month (less than £25 per month). These are families that would find it more or less impossible to afford the fees to send their children to school – instead they would perform household works or other income generating activities.

The children will learn subjects such as Bangla, English, mathematics, general knowledge and religious education as well as some life skills to enable them to support themselves in the future.  Teaching methods incorporate all of the children of different ages in the classroom but supervised by 1-2 teachers, similar to the style employed in rural UK schools with low class numbers.

The Foundation also provides necessary logistic support including safety and security and crucially one decent healthy meal for the students. For many, this is the only meal they will get each day.  The school also provides and educational materials for its students. If needed, the Foundation will also offer logistical or financial support in the future to families so that they do not feel under pressure to have to take their children out of school and into helping generate income for the family.

Learn more about the Ankur School in Bangladesh and the Sir William Beveridge Foundation

Recycling recyclenow.com

In many of our properties, we have recycling schemes to encourage all of our housemates to use recycle facilities provided – every little helps!

Community – Step Up stepupgroundationuk.org

We are mentors on the Step Up initiative mentoring disadvantaged teenagers in the UK. Step Up runs inspirational days with the UK’s leading entrepreneurs to motivate UK teens from impoverished backgrounds

We have also made financial donations to the following charities this year

Macmillan Nurses www.macmillan.org.uk

Cancer Research UK www.cancerresearch.org.uk

Sands www.uk-sands.org