Employees from Solihull-based Phoebus Software have spent a day volunteering at Newlands Bishop Farm, swapping lines of code and spreadsheets for paint rollers and gardening tools in support of the firm’s 2025 charity partner.
The social enterprise, operated by the Family Care Trust, provides work experience and skills training for adults with learning disabilities and mental health conditions. It runs a variety of initiatives — including animal care, horticulture, catering and woodwork — to help people build independence, develop confidence and gain practical work skills.
On a bright summer day, a team from Phoebus helped redecorate one of the farm’s management offices and prepared a large new vegetable garden, the biggest the site has undertaken to date.
The produce will go on to supply the farm’s café, which is staffed by service users and open to the public.
Speaking after the visit, Robin Jeffery, chief technology officer at Phoebus, said: “Our volunteering day at Newlands Bishop Farm was both inspiring and humbling. It was fantastic to see first-hand how the farm is changing lives, and to contribute in a small way to its ongoing work. We came away tired but fulfilled, and with a real sense of achievement.
“The day was incredibly rewarding and a good reminder that to give is to receive – if we all focussed on giving to the community rather than just on what we get, the world would be a better place.”
The day formed part of Phoebus’s broader ESG strategy, which centres on four pillars — environment, community, people and governance. Staff are encouraged to take part in volunteering through a company policy that offers all employees a paid day each year to support a charity of their choice.
The Family Care Trust was selected as Phoebus’s charity of the year following an internal staff vote. The company will support the organisation through further volunteering and a series of fundraising activities throughout 2025, including regular raffles and company-wide initiatives.
Founded in Solihull more than 30 years ago, Phoebus Software provides banking and lending technology to financial institutions across the UK and Europe.
