Managed print provider, DEOS Group, has recently donated £10,000 to the Southampton based, Polygon School to fund a seven-day trip to Morocco in October 2018 for six students and supporting staff.
The donation came about through a chance social meeting between Group Managing Director Matt Smith and Sarah Kinder and Hayley Ifould, staff members at The Polygon. The ensuing conversation led Matt to make the donation with the only caveat being that it should be used for a once in a lifetime experience that otherwise would not have been realistic.
Sarah Kinder from the school said, “all Polygon pupils have Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) and have had unsuccessful experiences in education in the past. As a staff team we work hard to change these experiences, encourage our pupils to grow in confidence and self-esteem, achieve qualifications and become functioning members of society. As challenging as this may be, we believe our pupils can succeed. Personal challenge and life experiences are so important in changing the mind set and behaviours of our boys, we cannot thank Matt and DEOS enough for enabling us to provide this amazing opportunity.”
Matt Smith, DEOS Group MDadded, “we promote a strong company ethic that we should give back to our local community – not just customers, Polygon are not a client of ours and nor are any of the other local charities that we have donated to this year – but we like to donate in a fashion that really helps to deliver otherwise unachievable outcomes. Sarah and Hayley spoke with such passion about their students that I couldn’t help but be moved by the conversation and with Nick and I having had the pleasure of meeting all of the boys who are going on the trip, I know that although there is some obvious trepidation, there is also a huge amount of excitement about the trip. I cannot wait to hear from them all when they return and I’m absolutely delighted that we have been able to assist with this project.”