Press Release
23 May 2017
TechPixies announces it has beaten its crowdfunding target to help more Oxfordshire mums return to work, shortly after hosting a visit from Prime Minister, Theresa May.
Mrs May met with TechPixies founder Joy Foster and her team of Pixies at free office space provided by Grant Thornton in East Oxford, to put flexible working on the national agenda.
The TechPixies crowdfunding campaign has raised a total of £7,097 to provide training courses for women to learn new digital skills thanks to a generous donation of £2,500 from FiDUS Power based near Newbury, which took the campaign over its £5,000 target.
The programme still needs additional funding from businesses or a donation of free office space to host a five-week course to reach its goal of helping 100 women return to work by April 2018.
Joy Foster, founder of TechPixies, said: “We are delighted to be in a position to help more Oxfordshire mums return to work and would like to thank all of our partners for getting us to this stage. We are also grateful to the prime minister for taking time out of her busy schedule to meet with us. We had record breaking interest in our courses following her visit with enquiries growing by over 60%!”
During her visit, prime minister, Theresa May, said: “TechPixies is a fantastic organisation that is helping women gain new skills to return to work and perhaps even set-up their own business. This is what we want to see more of in the future.”
TechPixies is reaching out to women from Abingdon, Bicester, Banbury, Didcot, Oxford’s Rose Hill and Blackbird Leys, Henley on Thames, Thame, Wantage and Witney to attend new courses launching in June and September 2017.
Mum of two and marketing manger for FiDUS Power, Vanessa Eadington, said: “When we heard about TechPixies and what Joy is trying to achieve, we were all keen to support the programme. I’ve been lucky with supportive employers enabling my job to fit around my children’s school commitments. The owner of FiDUS has always been committed to flexible working and helping Mums upskill when returning to work. We hope to see more women achieve the same through TechPixies.”
Joy Foster added: “We can only run more courses and help mums return to work if we receive grant funding or donations via our website. Alternatively, if any of Oxfordshire’s business owners have office space they could provide one day a week from 10.00am – 2.00pm for five weeks, we would love to hear from them.”
For further information about TechPixies courses or to donate to the programme, visit: techpixies.com
ENDS
For further information, contact:
Kelly Lea, PR Consultant, KellyLea PR, M: 07988 195 262; E: [email protected]
TechPixies is a social enterprise aiming to help women return to work by teaching them tech and was founded by Joy Foster in 2015 following the award of a grant from the Government’s Equalities Office via Better Broadband for Oxfordshire and the Oxfordshire County Council. The TechPixies programme runs face-to-face digital courses during term time, which are affordable. Partners include: Grant Thornton (free office space), 923jobs.com (CV and job application advice) Special Effect (free Dropbox space) and FiDUS Power (£2,500 donation).
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