Foundation Fortnight 2025: Celebrating five years of community impact

Our annual Foundation Fortnight campaign brings together our UK offices to celebrate the Charles Russell Speechlys Foundation, it's charity partners and the support given to the charities by Firm colleagues through pro bono legal advice, volunteering, skills shares and fundraising.

This year, the campaign marked a special milestone, as we reflected on five years since The Charles Russell Speechlys Foundation was established, and the impact achieved in that time.

Highlights from this year’s events included:

• A ‘Lunch & Learn’ with representatives from the Foundation’s newest key charity partner, Carers UK, who shared insights into their vital work supporting unpaid carers across the UK.
• A volunteer day with Emmaus Gloucestershire which saw colleagues assist the Cheltenham charity shop’s e-commerce team with sorting and valuing donated items ready for sale.
• A panel event with charity leaders from SafeLives and Emmaus UK, hosted by Sarah Rowley, exploring the key challenges and opportunities for the charity sector in the last five years.
• A volunteer day with Food Bank Aid, helping prepare crates of food and essential household items ready for delivery to the charity’s network of 33 foodbanks across London.
• An inspiring presentation at our Cheltenham office from Emmaus UK and two individuals who moved on from homelessness with their support. They shared their moving personal stories and highlighted the power of community and companionship.
• Fundraising events including quiz nights and lunchtime gameshows, where colleagues enjoyed light-hearted fun whilst raising funds for the Foundation.

We were also delighted to be able to engage with the charity partners through providing skills share sessions open to all their charity employees. Our London Commercial Dispute Resolution team led a Legal Education session on ‘Commercial Disputes’ and our Digital Marketing team provided a virtual masterclass on Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). Furthermore, in London we were pleased to host a training day for a new cohort of trainees from Fat Macy’s, a social enterprise who support people to transition from temporary accommodation through hospitality training.

Debbie Watson, Head of Community impact, commented on this year’s Foundation Fortnight campaign:

"Every year I am inspired by the enthusiasm of our colleagues who come together to celebrate Foundation Fortnight. This year, it felt particularly special to be able to reflect on five years of the Charles Russell Speechlys Foundation and the impact of the support provided to it’s charity partners. I am immensely proud of the significant contributions of our people who generously contribute their time and expertise to these partnerships."