What happens when you send hospitality recruiters to the Salvation Army to help out for the day?

We've been fans of Only A Pavement Away for a long time so when the opportunity came up to support their Fill a Flask campaign it was a no-brainer.

OAPA do vital work helping those facing homelessness, prison leavers and veterans into careers within hospitality.

Recruiters from our Edinburgh branch went to the Salvation Army centre to help run lunch service and distribute flasks filled with delicious soup.

Here's our chat with Head of Events and Campaigns Maria Ensesa where we discuss the campaign, how she uses her events background to co-ordinate hundreds of volunteers, and advice for those wanting to get into events.

This is part of our One Amazing Experience series where we chat to founders, event managers and professionals across the industry about how they bring amazing event experiences to life. Get tips to your inbox each month by signing up here.

Maria Ensesa, Head of Events and Campaigns at Only a Pavement Away

Could you tell us about Only A Pavement Away, what the charity does and why it was set up?

Only A Pavement Away now connects forward thinking employers in the hospitality industry and charities working with people facing or experiencing homelessness, prison leavers and veterans, to help place them into long term, stable employment within hospitality.

The charity was founded in 2018 by Gill and Greg Mangham, who realised that many of the people facing or at risk of homelessness were in that situation due to circumstances beyond their control.

At the same time, the hospitality sector is a growing industry with many vacancies, so the idea to marry the need for new team members within the hospitality industry with those who, with the right opportunity, would be able to get their lives back on track, came to life.

The Fill a Flask 2024 campaign has been a great success. Could you tell us more about the aims of the campaign, any challenges you faced organising it, and the impact from the campaign you've seen so far?

Fill a Flask is a campaign we run every year to bring awareness to those forced to live on the streets, as well as to connect our employers and our charity partners together, so they both get a deeper understanding of what each other do and how their connections have an impact.

Initially, the campaign started by giving out flasks for coffee & water to rough sleepers and has now developed into a volunteering day at one of our charity partners, which everyone enjoys even more. Volunteers can see how much giving a few hours of your day can help as many charities need volunteers on a regular basis.

It is a challenging campaign to organize, as it involves a lot of coordination to match the employers with charities that need certain number of volunteers and dates or times, however it is a great campaign from which we have received great feedback from both the employers and the charities and that we will definitively keep on running year on year.

As well as getting involved in your events, how else can people help to support Only A Pavement Away?

There are many ways you can support Only A Pavement Away, on a fundraising side we have many events, from individual and team challenges, to fundraising lunches and dinners where you can take part and meet great people and support our cause at the same time, we also have sponsorship opportunities for all of these.

Through our website you can donate directly on a monthly basis or a one off and we offer support if you would like to create your own event or challenge. As a company we offer many partnerships where we mutually support each other, so you can always reach out to find out more.

We value quality over quantity and that anything you can give will help, even if just a share or a like. Awareness is key for us as the more people that know us, the more support we receive and the more people we can help get back on their feet.

Off to Workers ready to join the Fill a Flask campaign

Before working at Only A Pavement Away, you have built an impressive CV working in events and marketing at venues like The Landmark Hotel and JW Marriot Grosvenor House. What's one piece of advice you'd give to people looking to build their career in events and hospitality?

Events can be a stressful career path but if you find the right balance it is very rewarding, especially when you see the impact and happiness they create.

Hospitality is a great industry where with the right mindset and attitude you can get very far, there is always someone that is willing to take you on and guide you through.

It’s a very supportive industry so be open to that, at the same time, as you grow help and mentor those under you.

Finally, what is your One Amazing Experience from the world of hospitality and events?

It is hard to choose one experience as events is a very rewarding job, especially when you see the impact it has.

However right now I would bring up again Fill A Flask as an amazing experience. It has been a challenging event to organize, doing it simultaneously in 6 different cities.

However, the joy of bringing it to life has been incredible; seeing the impact a few hours of volunteering does is very eye-opening. It also brings our partners and employers closer to the charities we work with.

Get involved

You can support Only A Pavement Away by joining their fundraising events, by donating directly, or even just re-sharing their posts.

OTW clients and casual team members can also donate points earned via our Panache Points rewards scheme to charities including Only A Pavement Away.