The Gift - to unlocking individual potential

BBC Researcher Nicola Murphy and Broadcast Journalist Clare Freeman volunteered with BBC Outreach to make a film with the Manchester charity, GIFT.

GIFT (Grace Incorporation Faith Trust) is based in the Moss Side area and works with organisations such as Manchester College to provide educational and employment opportunities for people from diverse communities.

'Through my experience with BBC Outreach, I feel more connected to Moss Side and the community surrounding it' - Nicola Murphy, Researcher Rip Off Britain.

I attended a talk given by BBC Outreach to staff in MediaCityUK discussing their upcoming projects and I thought the GIFT charity sounded fantastic. I really believed in their ethos - that everyone has a talent, everyone is good at something, and they are trying to make sure everyone discovers their own talent.

The objective of the GIFT project was to make a promotional film showing what the charity does.

On the Outreach project itself I was involved throughout the whole process - from the initial meetings, to story boarding, to filming and managing the edit.

Career-wise it gave me the opportunity to learn and develop my filming skills and it was beneficial for me to have an experienced camera-person on site. This gave me the opportunity to ask questions and learn without feeling under pressure.

Personally it was great to get out into the community, just a few miles from where I work every day and meet with people who are making such an almighty difference to people’s lives.

I was privileged enough to go to the charity’s Christmas concert which was really entertaining and very touching.

I made contacts that I will certainly call upon in the future. Exhilarated, educated, proud - are just some of things I felt after finishing this Outreach project.

‘I had no idea I would end up feeling so proud of the final results’ - Clare Freeman, Broadcast Journalist North West Tonight.

This is the second BBC Outreach project I've completed since I began working at the BBC six years ago, and as the BBC Outreach team set up these projects all you have to do is to clear taking two days out of your day job.

My manager was flexible in allowing me two days off a busy news rota at BBC Radio Manchester to be part of the Outreach project and in return I came back freshly motivated and with more transferable skills: how to self-shoot with cameras and direct during an edit.

I've built relationships with internal BBC colleagues and also external contacts that could possibly feature as guests on shows in the future.

More importantly it was great for me to give back to the community and audience - it’s so rewarding to know that the skills that we can offer from our day jobs are transferable and can help charities like GIFT.

When the charity members came in to view the film I felt nervous and emotional watching their amazed faces. I was immensely proud of all we had all achieved in such a short space of time - a four-minute film the charity will use for future promotion.

Moving forward, this will be something I hope to do on an annual basis. I can't emphasize enough that other BBC staff should do the same, especially with such a great selection of topics up for grabs. My advice is just to go for it!

BBC Outreach & Corporate Responsibility brings the BBC closer to its audiences - particularly those audiences we have identified as harder to reach - with face-to-face activity, community support and staff volunteering.