I CAN's schools, services and campaigns improve the lives of thousands of children and young people for whom communicating with others is difficult, sometimes impossible.  By supporting I CAN and tackling this issue, companies can address now what will be key issues for them in the future.  They will be able to:

• Help increase the pool of potential future employees by improving the educational attainment of thousands of children and young people.
• Improve the communication skills of their future employees before they reach the workplace, increasing performance and efficiencies.
• Tackle key social problems by reducing social exclusion, anti-social behaviour and crime.  

Below are some examples of current and recent partnerships that have changed the lives of children and families across the UK.

The HBOS Million £ Challenge 2006

I CAN's 'Charity of the Year' partnership with HBOS raised an astounding £1.54 million for the charity, enabling it to roll out I CAN's pioneering Early Talk programme.  Thanks to this amazing sum, I CAN has been able to provide communication support to over 1,000 nurseries across the UK – improving provision for 150,000 children every year.

I CAN started working with HBOS in January 2006 after I CAN was voted in by HBOS colleagues as its charity partner.   HBOS colleagues participated in a range of activities from dress down days and celebrity raffle draws to the Great Scottish Walk and sponsored running events.  HBOS Colleagues also embraced I CAN's 'Big Change Day' fundraising concept which encouraged everyone to get sponsored to change something – whether that's how they travel to work, shaving their heads or beards, stopping smoking or losing weight.

And every pound that was raised by HBOS colleagues was matched by the HBOS Foundation, resulting in £1.54 million in just one year! 

Openreach

Working together since 2006, I CAN and Openreach have made an enormous difference to the lives of thousands of children and their families. Recognising the importance of communication skills in children, Openreach is supporting I CAN's work to help parents, carers and teachers equip young children with the communication skills they need to do well at school and progress in life.

Together we have developed two amazing resources for parents – Ready Steady Talk and Chatter Matters and the partnership is ensuring that they reach those families who need them. To date over 200,000 Chatter Matters DVDs and 50,000 Ready Steady Talk activity books have been received by parents, carers and teachers.

Through Openreach's support, I CAN has reached mass audiences and raised awareness of the need to support children's communication skills from birth. This has been achieved through support of I CAN's Make Chatter Matter campaign, sponsorship of the annual Chatterbox Challenge and two innovative viral marketing campaigns; Wall of Words and Rhyme Stars.

In 2008 we ‘took to the road’ with a series of events and roadshows, talking to parents face to face and delivering the resources we have developed directly into their hands. The roadshows are continuing in 2009.

BT Better World Campaign

Working together as strategic partners from 2006-2009, I CAN and the BT Better World Campaign have made a huge impact on how children's speech, language and communication skills are supported. BT was a principle supporter of the Make Chatter Matter campaign, alongside Openreach, and helped I CAN put speech, language and communication firmly on the political and media agenda.

Together we developed Learning to Talk, Talking to Learn and The Communication Cookbook - two high quality resources designed to enable teachers and other professionals better support children’s communication development.

I CAN and BT have also reached teachers, professionals and policy makers through a programme of conferences and exhibitions, reports and publications. The Education Show 2009 was the most recent of these and over 2,500 teachers and other members of children's workforce visited the stand, taking away more than 3,600 resources.