A Day on the Ground with Zarach: Turning Support into Action
At One for the City, we often talk about the power of collective giving. But every so often, we’re reminded that the real impact of that support is best understood not through reports or stories, but by seeing it first-hand.
This week, one of our board and founding members, Guy Utley, joined his team from Tall for a volunteering day with Zarach - an organisation we are proud to have supported.
What followed was a powerful, grounding experience that brought our shared mission to life in a very real way.
Supporting Zarach’s Mission, Hands-On
The Tall team spent the day working directly alongside Zarach’s delivery crew, including long-standing team member Scott. Together, they helped deliver essential items beds, mattresses, linen, and books to children across Leeds.
This wasn’t a symbolic gesture for the team. It was a chance to step into the day-to-day reality of Zarach’s work. Team members joined delivery vans, visited homes, and played a part in ensuring that children who would otherwise be sleeping on floors or sofas now have a safe, comfortable place to sleep.
Zarach’s work is not occasional. It is consistent, year-round, and deeply embedded in the communities it serves.
Seeing the Reality Behind the Need
We often share stories. We highlight the statistics. But as Guy himself has reflected, being there in person is something else entirely.
The experience brought into sharp focus the scale of need across local communities. It’s one thing to understand that families are struggling, it's another to see it up close, to witness the environments, and to recognise just how essential these interventions are.
Moments like this cut through abstraction. They remind us that behind every donation is a child whose life is tangibly improved.
The Power of the Right Intervention
What stood out most was how immediate and meaningful the impact can be.
A bed is not just a piece of furniture. It represents dignity, stability, and the foundation for better health, education, and wellbeing. The right support, delivered at the right time, can genuinely change the trajectory of a child’s life.
Zarach exemplifies this. Their work is focused, practical, and deeply human. It is exactly the kind of on-the-ground impact that One for the City exists to support.
If you’d like to learn more about their work, you can visit their website here: https://zarach.org
A Reminder of What’s Possible
This day served as a powerful reminder of the role businesses and individuals can play in backing organisations doing meaningful work.
Tall, as one of our member organisations, has shown what it looks like to go beyond financial support and engage directly with the causes they care about. That combination of giving and doing is where real change happens.
At One for the City, we ask for just one percent of profit. It’s a small commitment on the surface, but as this experience shows, it can go a very long way collectively.
We are grateful to Guy and the Tall team for taking the time to get involved, and to Zarach for the work they continue to do across Leeds.
