Birmingham young professional Claire-Elaine Arthurs has claimed that the city’s professional services sector needs to focus on working with the local community if it is to keep in tune with the city’s grassroots.
Claire-Elaine, of Birmingham law firm HBJ Gateley Wareing, has now joined Birmingham Future’s leadership team as head of the organisation’s CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) committee.
She was also recently short-listed for the overall Birmingham Young Professional of the Year award and was recipient of the legal category of the award this year.
She says that for Birmingham Future’s CSR coordination to be effective, young professionals across the city need to be in touch with local community projects and listen to what community groups say to them.
She says: ‘To be effective, we need to have our ears to the ground and be in tune with the community groups around us – in our neighbourhoods, schools, places of worship, and at work.
“Being open to the kinds of work already going on in our own areas is key.
“We are a diverse bunch of people with diverse interests, but what we can all do together is to share our expertise to promote fundraising, professional development of volunteers, and expand mentoring schemes through our CSR work.
“We all want to see the most effective use of CSR activities and for local organisations and people in neighbourhoods all across Birmingham to benefit from this.
“But for that we need to be in touch with our local groups and be directly involved with their work.”
HBJ Gateley Wareing is a Birmingham law firm which values its CSR work and always encourages staff to do more, according to senior partner Michael Ward.
Mr Ward said: “Claire-Elaine is a fine example of one of our young fee earners who is not only giving a huge amount back to the community in which she lives but also providing leadership for other fellow professionals in the city.”
