Why Local Social Value Matters More Than Ever 

Quick Summary 

• Social value at Trustco is practical, local and lasting, never just box-ticking. 
• Our partnership with Brighton Aldridge Community Academy delivers devices, STEM events and sports kit that open doors for students. 
• We’ve shared Christmas dinner with pupils, showing the power of visible support and genuine community. 
• Trustco also refreshes and donates IT kit, backs women’s refuges, runs beach cleans and volunteers time across Sussex charities. 
• In 2026 to 2027 we will extend laptop donations, staff volunteering and STEM sponsorships, including the Race to The Line challenge and Elderflower Fields Festival. 
• The goal is simple: Boost confidence, belonging and ambition so young people believe bigger futures are within reach. 

At Trustco, social value has never been about ticking a box. 

For us, it is about doing something real, local and lasting. 

Trustco puts our time and money where our mouths are, and over the last financial year that has resulted in widening access to technology, funding experiences that build confidence, backing community initiatives, and showing up in person where it matters most.  

Through our partnership with BACA (Brighton Aldridge Community Academy), including device donations, funding STEM and sports opportunities, as well as volunteering our time, and helping local charities with practical IT support, every initiative has had one simple purpose: creating opportunities that might otherwise be out of reach. 

The most meaningful part is seeing what that support actually unlocks. It helps build confidence, belonging, ambition and a sense of connection to something bigger than people’s immediate surroundings. 

The heart of our partnership with BACA 

Our partnership with Brighton Aldridge Community Academy (BACA) is built around one belief: young people should have access to opportunities that help them see beyond the limits of their everyday environment. 

Where access to resources and experiences can vary, schools should not have to do this alone. By working alongside BACA, we have been able to play a small but meaningful role in widening access to learning, enrichment and confidence-building opportunities. 

This year, that included: 

• Donating decommissioned and brand-new devices for students 
• Funding materials for a Girls STEM Day involving 60 girls from multiple schools building rockets to launch raw eggs skyward and return them safely 
• Sponsoring girls’ football shirts and meeting the team in person 
• Helping fund the Christmas school dinners and joining students for the meal 
• Contributing to funding a student trip to Jamie’s Farm 

Each of these moments supports educational and personal development in different ways, from access to devices for learning to the confidence that comes from STEM, sport and trips beyond the classroom. 

The moment that stayed with us 

The most emotional moment of the year was the Christmas dinner. 

Walking down the stairs, our Sales Director and Operations Manager were being cheered by a hall full of genuinely happy students; this was a humbling moment that will stay with us for a very long time. It was instantly clear how much it meant. 

Sitting down to share Christmas dinner with the students, watching older pupils serve, teachers cook, and the room fill with laughter and freedom turned it into something far bigger than a donation. It became a moment of belonging, pride and community in action. 

That is what meaningful social value should feel like – visible, human and unforgettable. 

Why this matters so much 

There is a deeply personal reason this work matters. 

Both Tim (MD) and Michelle (Sales Director) remember a time when youth services, school support and wider public service involvement created experiences that were available regardless of income. These included everything from youth clubs for sport and hangouts to cycle proficiency with the police, discounted trips to theme parks and monthly community discos that simply gave young people safe spaces to be together and grow. 

That sense of accessible support feels far less visible today. 

With public services increasingly stretched, we believe local businesses have a responsibility to help fill some of that gap and give back to the communities they work in. Schools should not have to do this alone. 

Just as importantly, support should be visible. It matters that businesses show up physically, not simply by donating funds, but by being present for students to see. That presence reinforces connection, while allowing leaders to witness firsthand the impact their support creates. 

Social value beyond BACA 

While BACA is the emotional heart of this newsletter and blog, it is only one part of the wider social value Trustco has delivered across the last financial year. 

Across Sussex and our local community, we have also: 

• Refreshed and donated IT equipment to local charities, including support for Age UK to help establish a learning and IT centre 
• Donated a PC to Spire so it could be re-used by someone needing a Windows 11-capable machine 
• Supported a women’s refuge through sponsorship and practical donations 
• Donated an iPad for a charity netball tournament supporting the local women’s refuge 
• Provided £250 of Christmas gifts, focused largely on children’s presents and toys 
• Continued staff-led beach cleans and gardening volunteering across 2024 and 2025 
• Supported seasonal community moments, including staff volunteering as Santa 

These initiatives reflect the same people-first belief that sits behind the BACA partnership; we believe that social value should show up in practical, local and visible ways. 

What this says about Trustco 

Despite being a technology business, we are people-first. 

That belief shows up in how we operate every day, from paying the living wage and investing in our staff, opening up about our mental health, to building a culture that extends far beyond the office walls. 

Real success, to us, means bringing others with us. That includes investing in the next generation of talent across technology support, sales, administration and operational roles, while helping young people see pathways they may not otherwise have imagined. 

We may be a small business, but we believe in making a big impact. 

Looking ahead to Financial Year 2026–2027 

This work does not stop here. 

In the year ahead, we will continue donating laptops and machines to schools and local charities wherever possible, including upcoming desktop decommissions and the use of partner voucher programmes to source new devices. 

Our staff volunteering will continue and, we hope, grow even further with more beach cleans, gardening and Santa already firmly on the calendar. 

With BACA, we are also proud to be sponsoring a group of Year 7 students for the Race To The Line STEM Challenge, alongside continuing to support the school in the ways it needs most throughout the year. 

We will also be extending our wider community sponsorships into the new year, including support for the So Sussex Elderflower Fields Festival as part of our continued commitment to local community initiatives. 

The legacy we hope this leaves behind 

Having seen the work BACA does with its students, our hope is simple: When young people look back on their time there in years to come, they know they were given the best support and opportunities possible. 

More importantly, they believe in themselves more because of it. 

When opportunities are genuinely made available, most young people will grab them with both hands. That is what fuels ambition, builds self-belief and helps shape the future they go on to create for themselves. 

That is why social value matters so much to us, because today’s moments of encouragement can become tomorrow’s confidence, career paths and life choices