In this article, Gbotemi, Community Southwark’s work experience student explores the benefits of Corporate Volunteering at Community Southwark and it’s a delightful read. Enjoy!
What is corporate volunteering and why should community groups get involved?
Corporate volunteering is a practice in which Voluntary Sector Organisations (VCS) in Southwark work together with corporate organisations in order to allow workers to shareskills and time. This can be in the form of a VCS having workers from Lidl paint their walls, or maybe by having them give out goodie bags at an event. In any case, the main aim is for the corporate workers to gain invaluable experience, and for the VCS to be supplied with volunteers.
Community groups should not hesitate to get involved, as it is a reliable method to get volunteers, many of whom are motivated to improve their craft and therefore their trade, meaning maximum effort will not have to be requested, or demanded, but simply come naturally.
A look at corporate volunteering at Community Southwark
Community Southwark (CS) works hard to ensure this can happen with charities all around the borough. On their website, they provide advice on how to get involved in corporate volunteering. The first method is Practical Team Challenges, in which workers volunteer to help VCS achieve large space improvement goals with limited resources. This can range from painting murals to digging ponds and is an extremely convenient way to improve your organisation-especially because CS’s corporate partners pay for all tools and equipment, making the whole experience free on your end.
Another method is pro bono skills-based volunteering, in which worker-volunteers share their knowledge and you make use of their skills. CS coordinates this by running the VCS through a diagnostic to find corporate volunteers with a complimentary skill level. Common topics are: Project management; Strategic planning; Branding / Marketing strategy; Business development; Communications; Change management; Data analysis; Talent management; Business operations; and Business technology.
What has Community Southwark been up to?
Many examples exist for us to look back on, one of them being the series of accountancy workshops with Hiller Hopkins. The two successful occurrences could make it possible that Southwark VCS(s) to enjoy them on a regular basis. They have allowed for specialised accountancy support training, e.g. a Xero specialist interested in running training sessions with CS members in the future.
After the accountancy training, individuals such as Lisa and Melissa-Jo told CS afterwards that they gained a deeper understanding which allowed Lisa to avoid late fees and Melissa to take the steps towards securing a funder with complete confidence.
The Amplify Your Voice Project is a project with ZS Associates, involving four VCS groups sharing their corporate engagement experiences, and use their combined experience to better understand barriers to accessing partnerships with corporate organisations.
Perhaps the most interesting project that CS set up was the partnership between Balfour Beatty and SET Social, in which a multifaceted arts and community organisation was able to work in partnership with one of the world’s largest infrastructure groups to transform a community garden!
Thank You Gbotemi for all your help & support this week from all of us at Community Southwark & Healthwatch!
You can learn more about our corporate volunteering programme HERE
