At NearU, giving back is at the core of everything we do. Whether that’s time saved on a pointless commute, money that would have been spent on expensive office rental contracts or emissions that would have been made travelling to and from a distant office.

But now we’ve taken things one step further by partnering with the Aster Foundation, which will help us improve the mental health of 20,000 employees across the country by 2030, and thus enrich the communities that surround our workspaces.

Due to the successful impact of Aster Group using the NearU platform across the South West of England, we have formed a closer partnership and are working together across Aster’s charitable organisation. NearU will contribute 50% of booking fees made by companies referred by Aster to their impact programme - in particular the mental health arm - to join Aster in aiming to improve mental health and wellness.

If you haven't heard of us, NearU has launched an app that connects employees to flexible desk space and meeting rooms, putting flexible working at employees’ fingertips. NearU's pay-as-you-go booking platform lets individuals choose to work-near-home when they want, eliminating the need for a commute, expensive office rental contracts, and giving them the freedom to do what works for them. 

NearU Founder, Daniel Murray, commented on the partnership: “Whether it’s cutting down on commuting or boosting employee wellbeing, we are always looking to improve the day-to-day lives of our users."

"The Aster partnership seeks to do exactly this. We’re proud to be part of its wider goal to boost the mental health and wellness of 20,000 people - something which is more important than ever during the pandemic."

Our partnership with Aster Group is part of a broader plan to help co-working spaces support the wider communities in which they are based. 

Last month we spoke to a few of workspaces in the South-West - Purple Office, The Portway Centre, and Kingston Country Courtyard - that have already benefitted from our partnership with Aster (as well as the ease of our booking platform). Payments are received promptly each month, saving the companies the need to invoice various visitors and clients. Likewise, local remote workers and businesses benefit from time savings and reduced administration tasks, using NearU’s easy app to book an appropriate space.

"Once we have completed the refurbishment of the building, we will review our activity with the local community, initially looking at supporting preschool children in our local area, and the older community," said Yasmyn Ride of the Portway Centre in Salisbury. "We will take our lead from the local Parish council. We are hoping to become a local ‘business hub’, a place for sharing ideas and facilities, encouraging entrepreneurship and sharing the skillsets available to us."

Similarly, Kingston Country Courtyard are also offering their space out locals. "We have opened our doors to the community to allow them to meet and socialise, work and play, reflect and rejuvenate and more importantly reconnect with work colleagues, loved ones and family and friends," said space Director, Tony Edwards.

James Hart, Co-Founder of Purple Office, also told us about how his space is helping to support the local community in a full interview, though you can read a snippet from it here: “Our community doesn’t have anything like our space at the moment and since working with NearU, we’ve made our space easily available for both local residents and for hybrid workers temporarily staying in the area. Creating a central workspace that encourages people to reconnect with one another, instead of working at home, is core to what we’re trying to build - a hub that is for the community, supported by the community.”