The Bliss charity was set up over 40 years ago and we continue to focus on positive outcomes for babies who are born prematurely or sick, providing comfort and support for families when they need it most.

We are here for any baby born who requires neonatal care. About 60% of babies on the units are born prematurely, but the other 40% are poorly, have jaundice, or a congenital heart issue and we’re here to offer the best support we can to all families.

Bliss approach this in many ways. Firstly, the Baby Charter framework and specialist support services, work directly with neonatal units to ensure they can provide an optimum level of care to families. We also improve government policy and laws for parents in this situation. Then there is education and support, which we offer directly to parents in neonatal units and online. There are also the amazing Bliss Champions who provide families with someone to talk to, who can relate to their experience, which is often a lifeline.

That’s such a moveable feast! We come from a variety of backgrounds but all have a keen interest in helping and making a positive impact on this side. Some of our people have had direct experience, quite often it’s people who are maybe one step removed, so it might be the parents of parents, or aunties and uncles, or friends. We do get a lot of parents as well but for some, it can understandably be a bit close to the bone. With others, that’s their very reason for doing it, so it really does vary.

Countryside has been working with us for about three years and we met Emma at a charity football tournament they were hosting. We had a great chat and she shared her story about how her family were helped by Bliss and how grateful they were for the support they received. By way of a thank you, Emma asked if City Calling could be of assistance and if they could help with our recruitment requirements, which was an offer I was very happy to accept.

We initially needed a Partnerships Officer and Senior Partnerships Officer for my team. These are effectively like account management and new business roles, so with Emma’s approach we were confident there would be individuals we would want to consider. Using her expertise Emma certainly made this happen.

The City Calling candidates presented were impressive, credible and potentially a good fit. We interviewed many of them, with a good number making it through to second interview.

With the best will in the world, we have a budget to help promote what we do, but we’re very much just stabbing in the dark when it comes to this kind of stuff and we are very grateful for all of the help and support City Calling has given us.

We were delighted to offer the Partnerships Officer position within the team to one of the candidates Emma had helped identify. She’s been here just over three months and has recently passed her probation with flying colours.

They have been a great fit for us and bring a lot of value. She has an account management background from the finance world, which has been put to good use since making the move across. She brings a different energy to the team and it’s a really welcome one, I think having that variety in the workforce is a really positive thing and is certainly working well for us.

Particularly within partnerships, it is great to have people that worked in corporate fundraising. However, having somebody who comes from the private sector has been such a blessing – our new team member is super productive and that has been a total game changer, she just knows how to get stuff done. The speed they go their head around all of the internal and external policies, procedures and so forth was absolutely mind-bending and very welcome.

I think we already know the answer to that question, we would love to! It’s an interesting partnership and fast becoming an ongoing collaboration, which I’m sure is going to continue to flourish.

When I first introduced the idea of working with City Calling to Bliss, people didn’t necessarily get it, or expect it to be as beneficial as it has been. The real markers of this success are who Emma has helped to bring on board and the noise this has made internally. Now I have a lot of colleagues who understand the quality and value City Calling provide, and are asking for her details, so we can continue to use their services.

It’s so important that a recruiter wants to understand the essence of what it is that you’re trying to achieve, especially when you are a small charity with a limited budget. City Calling has always gone above and beyond to make sure that’s the case.