Students at EC Brighton received the local gift card as part of their half board provision and were able to spend their card with 60 plus local businesses – including cafés, restaurants and shops.
EC Brighton has helped students visiting the city to explore like locals by using the Brighton Gift Card.
The school – which hosts students year round with 420 students in peak weeks – invested £18,000 in Brighton Gift Cards for students to use to buy food and drink during their stay with over 60 local businesses who accept the card.
The Brighton Gift Card is part of the award winning Town & City Gift Card concept active across the UK and Ireland. Gosia Stewart is Centre Director at EC Brighton and said using the card offered their students choice and encouraging local exploration:
“In 2023, we’d used our local Town & City Gift Card, the Brighton Gift Card, for Spanish teachers we were hosting and it was really popular and easy so we decided to use the Brighton Gift Card again in 2024 for under 18 students as part of our provision which includes accommodation and half board.
“The great thing about the Gift Card is the choice it offers; it can be used in supermarkets, restaurants and coffee shops and hyper local businesses. Our students had lots of options in walking distance, including affordable places for dinner.
“As the students were all 16-17, we decided to distribute the £100 Brighton Gift Cards weekly at a meeting, rather than handing out one Gift Card at the start of their trip. People can go online and see where the Gift Cards can be spent, but to make it really easy, we created a handbook with 3 options of places students could go and spend their Gift Card for breakfast, lunch and dinner. So, if they didn’t want to look it up online, or didn’t know how to, they had the information to hand.
“The students were with us on a holiday to learn English but it’s also about the whole experience. Receiving the gift card also helped them to explore Brighton and try out different businesses, including independent businesses that they might not otherwise have tried. For many students, it was also a chance to learn how to budget.
“As a company, CSR is very important to us which we demonstrate through support for local businesses and the community. We regularly fundraise for local charities and choose independent businesses when we can. So we loved the fact that the Brighton Gift Card includes many independent businesses that would benefit from the investment we were making. Anything we can do to support the community, we will try to do.
“Word obviously got out that we were handing out the Brighton Gift Cards as we had queries from students staying with host families asking why they hadn’t received a card, so that’s always a good sign. For other organisations supporting students, I’d say that using your local Town & City Gift Card is a great idea. It’s an easy option for students and it’s an easy option for you. As well as using the card for our students, it’s an ideal option for thanking, rewarding and incentivising staff too.”
The Brighton Gift Card is led by Brilliant Brighton, a not for profit organisation formed of 500+ city centre businesses. Gavin Stewart, CEO at Brilliant Brighton, said:
“We’d like to thank EC Language School, Brighton for their investment in our city by choosing the Brighton Gift Card for their students this year. Every Brighton Gift Card purchased has to be spent in Brighton with shops, restaurants and other local businesses, providing tangible support for businesses that employ local people and contribute hugely to community vibrancy. I encourage all Brighton organisations to consider how the Brighton Gift Card can be used within your organisation, to give people choice and show your support for your city.”
Colin Munro is the managing director of Miconex, founders of the Town & City Gift Card concept and said: “EC Language School’s innovative use of the Brighton Gift Card shows how flexible the card is for a variety of use cases, from supporting students or other service users to rewarding staff or even incentivising clients or customers. In our 2023 research 91% of organisations said support for local contributes to their corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts, and 76.3% said they support local to take an active role in the success of the community. Town & City Gift Cards blend choice with support for local.”
Buy the Brighton Gift Card here.
