The Charitable Activity of The AIM Foundation - Owners of Nature’s Own
Charity is right at the heart of the day to day running of Nature’s Own. From a small collection among employees to a larger contribution to an international charitable scheme, we look to stay active in this area all year round.
The AIM Foundation
The charitable foundation that owns Nature’s Own is The AIM Foundation. They are an organisation concerned with nutrition, health, and well-being projects, as well as supporting the most vulnerable in our communities, such as women suffering from domestic abuse in Essex.
The mission of the AIM Foundation is to seek and achieve positive social change by funding organisations that work to address today’s needs and prevent problems arising. To achieve this overall goal, AIM has a strategy to proactively identify and fund three specific areas: Research and Policy, Prevention, and Support work.
Across these strategic ways of working, the Foundation is currently focused on:
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- Nutrition and Well-being – Diet and lifestyle programs in the population and in care settings.
- Young People – Improving their life chances, especially around the transition from school to employment.
- Early Years – Improving the emotional and social development of young children from vulnerable families.
Research and Policy
The AIM Foundation works alongside established research bodies with the aim of tackling causes of urgent problems and promoting innovative work, ensuring that research is shared as widely as possible whilst attempting to influence social change.
Nutrition and Well-being
Early Years
Wave Trust – Grants were made to this charity who are concerned with trying to break the damaging, intergenerational family cycles of childhood neglect and abuse. The AIM Foundation have continued to support their social policy work in demonstrating the need for universal early prevention interventions. This includes
helping midwives and health visitors across the population to identify which families need extra support during pregnancy and in the first years of the child’s emotional development.
Mellow-Parents – Evaluation research of the impact of Mellow Babies’ group work with vulnerable parents was undertaken to improve its uptake by commissioning agencies and expanding its reach.
Young People
The Royal Foundation – Heads Together Campaign – The AIM Foundation contributed towards this campaign to reduce the stigma around discussing one’s mental health difficulties. It is the Foundation’s intention to make further grants to help address the increase in teenager’s mental well-being issues.
Prevention
AIM continue to fund core costs of medium sized organisations that demonstrate strong leadership and are delivering effective work and increasing their impact or scale up. AIM look for opportunities to leverage the effectiveness of these organisations.
Early Years
Institute of Health Visiting – A new multi-year grant was made towards the setting of regional forums of Health Visitors to help disseminate best practice and research around supporting families in improving mental well-being around the time of birth.
Impetus-PEF – AIM gave their last grant supporting Impetus-PEF in developing and demonstrating the impact of Family Nurse Partnership; an independent charity that supports young first-time mothers in developing attuned parent-infant relationships. This includes highly trained nurses delivering home visits to help the young mothers from pregnancy through to the child’s second birthday.
Young People
Impetus-PEF – Additionally, AIM continues to support the main strategic work of Impetus-PEF which focusses on preventative and policy work with disadvantaged and disengaged young people, to assist in the transition from school to further education or work. Impetus-PEF helps build the capacity of many charities and social enterprises, developing their impact and extending their reach to support young people to reach their potential.
The Lighthouse Group (TLG) – The AIM Foundation have continued to support this group, training volunteer coaches to support pupils at risk of failing academically due to emotional and social problems. In the last year, the charity has seen excellent results; over half of the children have been better behaved and feel more positive about school.
Support
The foundation continues to support people who are disadvantaged, through local groups or initiatives. The focus is on people living in Essex, as this is where AIM’s endowment funds were generated, and the Founder Trustees live.
The Children’s Society – The Children’s Society in East Anglia was awarded a further multi-year grant to the Community Hidden Harm Awareness Team. They improve the physical and emotional well-being of children and young people whose parents are misusing substances and consequently are victims of domestic violence, neglect and under achievement at school.
Parent’s First – A new multi-year commitment of support began with this group working in deprived areas of Essex to train ‘community parents’ volunteers to provide peer-support to mothers of very young children.
Essex Community Foundation – The AIM Foundation supported the Essex Community Foundation towards their collaborative work employing independent domestic violence advocates. These advocates are based in local acute hospitals in Basildon and Colchester to provide direct support to victims of abuse and training to NHS staff.
Wells for India – This is a grass-roots organisation that provides safe, clean water to rural communities. The AIM Foundation have continued to support their work.
The Charitable Work of Nature’s Own
All year round, employees of Nature’s Own endeavour to participate in a number of charitable activities. Each year there are different local focuses and a number of countrywide charities that we continue to fund each year including:
World Land Trust – WLT is an international conservation charity, which protects the World’s most biologically threatened habitats. Since its foundation in 1989, WLT has funded partner organisations around the world to create reserves and give permanent protection to habitats and wildlife.
Circus Starr – Circus Starr is a touring circus boasting world-class, professional artists from across the globe. It was first founded in 1987 and provides free seats for thousands of disadvantaged, disabled or vulnerable children, whilst helping to raise much needed funds for local charities.
Baby Ava’s Support Foundation – A charity that supplies keepsake/memory boxes for families who have suffered the sudden loss of a child through stillbirth or neonatal death. The charity aims to supply as many neonatal units as possible across the UK that do not currently have any form of keepsake boxes.
NSPCC – Is the leading children’s charity fighting to end child abuse in the UK, Channel Islands, and Isle of Man. The NSPCC help children who have been abused to rebuild their lives, protect those at risk, and find the best ways of preventing abuse from ever happening.
Guide Dogs – A charity that aims to provide people with sight loss the support they need to be able to move around safely and confidently, to get out of their homes and be able to live life the way they choose.
A Big Thank You
Every customer who purchases our products, whether it be once, twice or ten times per year, is helping us to help those who are much less fortunate than ourselves. We believe this is a sound business model, and one that we are very proud of. We also aim to continue to strive towards the goals we have set ourselves – to improve the health of the nation, and the rest of the world too! We hope that this information has given you a small insight into the charitable structure of Nature’s Own and the significant role it plays in the day to day running of the company. We hope you continue to support us in the future in whatever way you can.
