Hello from BJC!

We realise we’re coming to you a little late with our 2021 update, but who else just wanted to get January done and dusted?! Now we’re in to February and as the situation continues to be very challenging in many different ways for us all, we just wanted to say hello and to let you know that we’re still here, still bringing our membership together (albeit virtually) to do some lovely things and to help keep spirits lifted.

If you’ll allow us a quick look back at 2020 (very quick, because we understand no one wants to think about last year for any longer than they have to…), we are very proud of what we managed to achieve as a professional networking organisation.

We moved our monthly meetings to a virtual format from the outset of the global pandemic and were thrilled to continue to welcome guest speakers from the Bristol community, including: Jaya Chakrabarti MBE, founder and CEO of Nameless; Steve Clark, non-executive director of Ecosurety; professional speaker, presenter and social entrepreneur Daniel Edmund and Ian Pond who is leading the CyclingWorks Bristol campaign.

Our Council of Management has also been pulling out all the stops to organise some fantastic networking events and activities – both virtual and in person where government restrictions have allowed it – which have proved invaluable at a time when many of us are feeling anxious, lonely, isolated and stressed. We’ve had Greek cooking classes, a Spanish lesson, monthly book club meetings, a walking tour of the city, hikes, a salsa class, wine tasting hosted by North Street wine bar Kask, a tour of Arnos Vale cemetery, ping pong games, running club… the list goes on (and continues to grow longer!).

We also raised over £5,000 for Above & Beyond, a local charity raising funds for Bristol city centre hospitals and supporting NHS staff, in a socially distanced charity challenge where members pitched in to cover a combined distanced of 1,000km over a period of seven days by walking, running, cycling or horse riding (following government restrictions in place at the time).

Now we’re in to 2021 and as the COVID-19 pandemic continues, we’ve endeavoured to keep our calendar busy with virtual networking and knowledge-sharing opportunities, events and activities for our members to join as and when they feel they are able to during this stressful time. In February alone we have Bristol Junior Chamber’s Festival of Charities as our monthly meeting, a virtual cook-along, beer tasting with local brewery Wiper & True, and we’ve got much more in the pipeline for the continuing lockdown.

Remember to follow us on social media – you’ll find us on Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook – and to take a look at the Events page on our website here to keep up to date with what’s coming up for Bristol Junior Chamber.