Sarah Gould

Said the following about Thomas Cantwell:

“Thomas works for CrossCountry as a Resource Controller, helping to manage on the day requirements for XC’s frontline teams, but that is only one element to Thomas. In his spare time he volunteers for a number of charities, giving back to the community in as many ways as he can. He always tries to find new and innovative ways to support those that are disadvantaged and most in need of support. He has recently assisted with setting up a new charity in Birmingham, Suited for Success. This charity aims to support those people that are out of work and are unable to afford to buy clothes to enable them to attend job interviews.

The Charity not only provides the opportunity to those people that are referred to them a suit to be used for an interview but they also look to offer support in terms of interview experience, coaching, aftercare support to ensure that when successful at interview they are then provided with on-going support for the first few months as this can often be a time when the individual will need more help and guidance to ensure that they have the most chance of continued success.

Thomas has been there from the start, whether that is providing a means of linking the charity to CrossCountry, encouraging employees to donate barely worn clothing, money or actual physical support when the charity was setting up the centre that the unemployed could visit to pick up their suit or receive support and training to ensure a greater chance of success.

Thomas has managed to persuade colleagues from CrossCountry to give up their time in order to support the charity, making certain that people across the organisation were aware of what the charity did and why it was vital for us to support the charity. Thomas is really passionate about the charity, what a difference it makes to the individuals who are referred to the charity and what we could do to support it further.

He regularly arranges collections utilising our Dress Down Friday collections on a Friday whereby colleagues based at Head Office pay a pound to wear casual clothing on a Friday. To encourage a different way of collecting he has encouraged colleagues to donate interview clothing instead of a pound which has resulted in the charity receiving both cash and also quality interview clothing.

I don’t think there is anyone who has done more within CrossCountry than Thomas to support unemployed people change their circumstances and making a positive difference to so many people. I have no hesitation recommending him for the RBF “Heart of Gold” Award for Charity“