CommuniTea: Bringing People Together to Strengthen Essex Communities
20th February 2026
When businesses and charities come together with honesty and curiosity, powerful conversations can happen. That was the thinking behind CommuniTea, a new networking series launched in Essex. It creates space for open dialogue over a cup of tea (or coffee), helping to turn good intentions into meaningful community support.
The first event in the four-part series, hosted by ECF and supported by the Beresfords Group, focused on reimagining volunteering in Essex. Through a panel discussion and open Q&A, attendees explored what effective support really looks like for charities working at the heart of local communities.
While many businesses genuinely want to give back, charities across Essex remain overstretched and under-resourced. The challenge is rarely intent, but alignment. Businesses often offer what they assume volunteering should look like, rather than what charities actually need. Effective support starts with better conversations, and CommuniTea is designed to create space for exactly that.
As Nicki Treffers, Group Marketing & New Business Director at Beresfords, reflected during the discussion: “It’s a case of having a very open conversation about how you can help each other and assist each other.”
One theme that emerged was how easily well-intentioned support can miss the mark. Charities spoke about receiving offers of help that, while generous, actually created extra work. Large, one-off volunteering days, for example, often require time for planning, induction and supervision that small organisations simply cannot spare.
As Ian Flint from Stow Maries Great War Aerodrome explained:
“Unless those businesses wanting to help stay up to date with what they need to do and what help is actually needed, they’re going to be completely at sea.”
Reimagining volunteering together
Volunteers play a vital role across Essex. Around 95,000 people sustain organisations that communities rely on every day, contributing over £1.2 billion to the local economy and supporting more than 17,500 paid roles. For many charities, volunteers are not “extra hands”; they are essential.
As Dan Skeates, Founder of Cool to Be Kind, said: “We’ve got one paid employee who does eight hours a week. We’re all volunteers.”
With resources so limited, misaligned support can be costly. Charities highlighted the importance of skills-based volunteering, where people offer expertise they already have but charities often cannot afford. Skills such as governance, finance, HR, safeguarding, IT, data and communications were identified as areas where the right support can have a lasting impact.
As Ian Flint noted: “If you’re phoning me saying, ‘I’ve got this skill set, is there something I can do for you with it, a service I can provide or a task I can complete for you?’, that’s an entirely different question.”
The discussion prompted reflection among attendees.
As Nicki Treffers shared:
“My takeaway will be looking at the skill set we have within our organisation, which is multifaceted.”
Others echoed similar views, including a recently retired attendee who said the event helped him recognise how personal skills and experience could translate into meaningful support for local causes. Together, these reflections pointed to a shift away from task-based volunteering and towards support that is better aligned with real charity need.
Continuing the conversation
This event is the first in a four-part CommuniTea series, bringing businesses and charities together through open dialogue and shared learning to turn ideas into action. For business leaders keen to stay involved and make genuine local impact, upcoming events offer a clear next step.