Corporate Volunteering
Corporate Volunteering Case Studies
ANZ volunteers let off steam
The much loved century-old steam train, Puffing Billy, still runs on its
original mountain track from Belgrave to Gembrook in the scenic Dandenong
Ranges, 40 kilometres east of Melbourne. Now a major tourist attraction,
Puffing Billy’s operation depends on the dedication of hundreds
of volunteers. This year ANZ staff joined their ranks and spent a productive
and rewarding day cleaning up the surrounding area. Motivated by seeing
the huge difference their efforts made, the volunteers also enjoyed the
benefits of participating in a valuable team-building exercise.
(source: Volunteering Australia, Corporate Shares, Community Profits)
Cool in an emergency
Like all emergency service groups, the Sale Country Fire Authority relies
heavily on the efforts of volunteers. During one of Gippsland’s
worst fire seasons on record, 16 volunteers from Esso’s Longford
plant joined the fight. Each year Esso and Mobil
award Volunteer Involvement Program (VIP) grants to organisations supported
by their staff volunteers. As a recipient of a VIP grant, the Sale Country
Fire Authority used their $1000 towards purchase of equipment used to
fight the fires. (source: Volunteering Australia, Corporate Shares, Community
Profits)
One in, all in
Staff from GE Consumer Finance’s call centre found
that the breakfast shift at the Brotherhood of St Laurence Coolibah Centre
coincided with the slow time at the call centre. While a large number
of the GE staff were keen to help out serving breakfast to homeless people,
it was only necessary for a few people to be involved each day. Over the
course of a few months all interested staff were rostered on breakfast
duty. So, although all staff helped out in the same way, only 2 or 3 people
were absent from the office at any one time. (source: Volunteering Australia,
Corporate Shares, Community Profits)
Becoming the Guide Dogs’ best friend
One of the hidden benefits of corporate volunteering is the opportunity
it offers for people from different levels or departments of an organisation
to work together. This is exactly what happened when a group of 15 from
Esso and Mobil donated their services
to exercise some appealing and highly intelligent guide dogs, clean up
their kennels, and generally help out around the place. Representing every
level of staff, including directors, admin assistants and IT specialists,
the volunteers forged new and valuable friendships they’ll take
back to their workplace. (source: Volunteering Australia, Corporate Shares,
Community Profits)
Making science fiction a reality
The story of the Melbourne Science Fiction Club (MSFC) goes to show that
there are virtually no limits on what corporate volunteers can do. The
MSFC, a notfor-profit organisation which runs regular activities for people
interested in fantasy, science fiction and related genres, is helped out
on a regular basis by National Australia Bank staff in
their free time. In addition to providing crucial support to countless
authors and artists, MSFC and NAB volunteers help stock and maintain the
club’s greatest asset – a unique library which houses thousands
of genre books, including many rare and out-of-print items. (source: Volunteering
Australia, Corporate Shares, Community Profits)
Ford volunteers in for the long haul
Faced with the challenge of repainting Camp Wilkins’ Locket Lodge,
two volunteer teams from Ford set up scaffolding, opened their paint tins,
and got down to work. After two days, the facelift of the 36 year-old
dormitory was complete. But at a place like Camp Wilkin, a not-for-profit
holiday camp for school children and other charity groups, there’s
always work to be done. So it’s reassuring that the volunteers from
Ford have promised to continue their assistance with upcoming major projects.
(source: Volunteering Australia, Corporate Shares, Community Profits)
The sky’s the limit
Engineers from a local construction company volunteered
their skills to help design a climbing wall for a teenage drop-in centre.
The engineers’ contribution was invaluable in providing specialist
skills the centre would not otherwise have access to or be able to afford.
The result – the centre’s recreation activities were greatly
enhanced and the engineers had the satisfaction of seeing their design
used and enjoyed. (source: Volunteering Australia, Corporate Shares, Community
Profits)
Swapping suits for work boots
As part of their annual Day of Caring, Melbourne’s Esso
and Mobil employees head off in teams to support charity
organisations. One of the teams had their work cut out for them –
digging in the gardens, working in the grounds, and fixing fences for
the RSPCA. And by day’s end, shifting a massive three tonnes of
rubbish.
(source: Volunteering Australia, Corporate Shares, Community Profits)
Westpac
Read about this unique corporate volunteering partnership between Westpac
and an inner-city high-school.
http://www.volunteering.com.au/corporate%5Fvolunteering/case_studies_and_links/cs_westpac.asp
The Body Shop
Sponsoring corporate volunteering programs around the world, underpins
the Body Shop’s broad social agenda. All of the offices and shops
of The Body Shop around the world engage in employee volunteering and
community projects. Each group chooses a local project they would enjoy
being involved with whilst the company grants staff several hours company
time each fortnight in which they are able to pursue their interest.
The company believes that staff benefit significantly by broadening their
horizons beyond those they would normally encounter if only exposed to
the workplace.
The company says although wage costs may be higher than they would otherwise
be, productivity increases because of higher staff morale.
Employee volunteering has also encouraged the Body Shop to better utilise
their staff resources by turning to staff for advice and engagement in
supporting the broader company social agenda. (Source: Volunteering New
South Wales)
Bain Management Consultants
An interesting bottom-up approach came from the staff of Bain Management
Consultants, who decided to "put something back into the community".
After discussion with employers, staff were encouraged to give a combination
of their own time as well as office time to engage in pro bono volunteer
work, that was selected by both staff and management. An emphasis was
given to working with organisations working with older people, environmental
organisations and voluntary organisations that wanted to devise specific
fundraising strategies. Employees have also subsequently been encouraged
to get involved in the "Walk Against Want" and participate in
organising the "City to Surf" fun run. (Source: Volunteering
New South Wales)
Blackwood Centre for Adolescent Development and the Centre for
Executive Development, Royal Sun Alliance
The Blackwood Centre for Adolescent Development is a Rural State Secondary
School Program that caters for young people at risk. AS Blackwood is not
a mainstream education facility it struggled for funding and support and
it became increasingly difficult to maintain the Centre. In 2000, the
Centre for Executive Development (CED) joined forces with Blackwood. The
support of the business has assisted the founders to gain financial support,
renewed their passion and energy and helped build a program which is now
recognized in educational circles as a model of excellence. The program
is an excellent example of the synergy that partnerships can offer. CED
provides the concept, expertise, leadership and networks, whilst Blackwood
contributes the focus, organisation and planning. (Source: Prime Minister’s
Awards for Excellence in Community Business Partnerships 2003)
Charters Towers City Council and other partners and Towers Mitre
10, Overflow, Woolworths, Hollimans Hardware, Herbert Hall Hardware and
Treasure Kingdom
The Our Kids Matter project is a cooperative approach by the Charters
Towers City Council, community organizations and businesses to reduce
the incidence of inhalant abuse in the city. The project has been addressed
in two stages; to first reduce access to paint in order to reduce the
risk of harm to young people, and then to provide long term strategies
to develop alternative education and employment pathways. Regular meetings
were held between the businesses and community groups and emphasis was
also given to reducing the stress of the families of the young people
involved. All partners contribute their staff time to attend meetings
and receive training in addition to the practical measures undertaken
to address this community issue. By adopting a collaborative approach
Charter’s Towers has achieved a 90-95 percent decrease in inhalant
abuse. (Source: Prime Minister’s Awards for Excellence in Community
Business Partnerships 2003)
Parafield Gardens High School, Primary School and Junior Primary School,
and Helping Hand Aged Care Inc.
This interaction between the generations is helping to challenge the myths
about what it means to be young and old, and to bridge the ‘generation
gap’ by providing opportunities for all ages to learn from each
other and develop genuine relationships. The partnership provides the
students with a range of opportunities the school alone cannot provide,
while instilling in the aged community a sense of belonging and helping
to reduce the social isolation so often associated with aged care living.
For Parafield Gardens participants, the partnership offers an awareness
of opportunities in a field of work (aged care) students may not have
considered before, a forum to practice communication and social life skills
in a real life context and a chance to be part of a community culture
that is inclusive and enterprising. Similarly, participants from the Helping
Hand Aged Care experience a range of benefits including active participation
in research projects that develop the area of intergenerational learning,
a sense of achievement and worth from contributing to younger people’s
learning and the development of friendships. (Source: Prime Minister’s
Awards for Excellence in Community Business Partnerships 2003)
Volunteering Australia, SEEK Communications, and The
Boston Consulting Group
GoVolunteer is Australia’s first national not-for-profit volunteer-matching
website. The website is a joint project of Volunteering Australia, and
SEEK Communications and The Boston Consulting Group. All three partners
are actively involved in maintaining the website with the overall strategic
direction set by a Steering Committee with representatives of all the
partners. The GoVolunteer website attracts 40,000 visits each month and
advertises approximately 50,000 volunteer opportunities for 3,000 not-for-profit
organisations. (Source: Prime Minister’s Awards for Excellence in
Community Business Partnerships 2003)
Indigenous Enterprise Partnerships, Balkanu Development Corporation, Westpac
Banking Corporation, The Body Shop, The Boston Consulting Group, and The
Myer Foundation
The Indigenous Enterprise Partnership is a coalition of business and community
leaders committed to assisting the development of enterprise in indigenous
communities around Australia. Balkanu is owned by the indigenous people
of Cape York and is responsible for economic development and land management
in Cape York. The partnership is working to create a private sector economy
in Cape York, break down the welfare economy through empowering individuals
and families to take responsibility for their own financial well being,
and build the skills and capacity of the next generation of indigenous
leaders. (Source: Prime Minister’s Awards for Excellence in Community
Business Partnerships 2003)
Life Stream Foundation and Thiess Pty Ltd
Life Stream offers opportunities for people with a range of disabilities.
Its core business is centred on the integration of its members into community-based
activities and to decrease the reliance on formal support. The partnership
with Thiess has facilitated the development of a business model for Life
Stream which has enabled it to provide a better level of service in delivering
a wide range of program activities in conjunction with well considered
individual action plans, supported by quality volunteers and staff.
The partnership has enable Life Stream to extend is services, increased
community awareness and understanding of the needs, experiences and achievements
of individuals with disabilities. Thiess has benefited through enhanced
reputation as a community minded citizen, improved employee morale and
self worth through the relationships formed and contributions made and
increased opportunities for staff to learn and grow their own skills.
(Source: Prime Minister’s Awards for Excellence in Community Business
Partnerships 2003)