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Message from John

JohnSolo Welcome to our site

Hello, my name is John Mulkerrin and I am the  founder  of Quotes4Charity CIC. Ive put together this page to hopefully answer the question I often get asked, but normally dont give what I consider a good answer to, and thats 'Why did I start Quotes4Charity?'

Its a simple story really, After a reasonably successful career in financial services that had taken me to a swish Hong Kong Office, I took a career break to give myself the space to decide where, what and how I wanted to spend the next chapter of my life. Things were going well and I was having fun, some will say too much fun, but I became aware of the fact that I wasnt enjoying it as much as I thought I would. With a 10kg rucksack,and my flexible friend in my back pocket, I set off for Tokyo, the first stop on an amazing  journey which has lead to me becoming what  people sometimes call a 'social entrepreneur'.

Whilst travelling through SE Asia I came face to face with the very worst of people, who were exploiting the extreme poverty and corruption that was rife throughout the region. An example is when I went to Cambodia, to see the beautiful temples of Angkor. Within hours I came across men drinking beer in air conditioned western bars,casually discussing the cost of 'girlfriends',and the ability to purchase a child for as little as $750 US Dollars. Sadly, this wasnt just bar talk, and when I went to look at a project that was run by a Japanese NGO, which took vulnerable children off the street and into school, a line in the sand was drawn. I knew I had to get involved in some way and a donation to charity was mentally pencilled in.

Fast forward to returning to London. Back to looking for a new job, I wasnt really excited by my options so played it safe and took the one that offered me the biggest basic salary.  Within two months the theme tune to The Office ran through my mind almost daily.  It was good motivation though, and whilst researching charities working in Cambodia I was slowly becoming aware of the third sector, and especially the individuals and organisations who were creating positive social outcomes through trade. Could I do something like that?  A financial services company that makes money for charity? Perhaps if I set up a charity to run alongside it? Would people buy into the idea and give us a chance to win their custom?

More research took me to the still very underpublicised CIC website, and Bingo! I had my lightbulb moment ,the basic premise of what is now Quotes4Charity CIC fell into place. I knew I wasnt a million miles away from my perfect job, and that if I got it right we could really make an impact.  Without really knowing how things would develop, I resigned from the bank and incorporated the very first financial services CIC.

Since then we've listened, learned and done our research. We've conducted the pilot schemes and have a small but ever expanding base of friends and partners to grow with. I hope you enjoy our site and get involved ,working together with likeminded individuals and organisations is crucial to building our long term  success. The phones are on, we look forward to hearing from you!

John