Giving Something Back

protectand educate

When the Midcounties Cooperative chose Women’s Aidas their two-year charity partner, they quickly realised

that this was more than just fundraising. It was achance to change behaviour and raise awareness of

domestic violence. By the end of those two years, notonly had they raised £345,000, but they had put in over22,000 hours of volunteering, collected 24,000 petitionsignatures, created a schools toolkit and changed their

own policies to reflect what they’d learned.

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Giving Something Back

from

schoolroomsite to

Lindum Group’s focus is on the future prosperity of thecommunities where they work, especially on educating

young people. Many of their employees are schoolgovernors who use construction industry know-how tosupport education professionals. The company itselfis also closely engaged with local schools, offering 48weeks’-worth of work experience placements and a

locally-recruited apprenticeship scheme.

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Giving Something Back

global

globalbusinessproject

Randstad is a global business, so it makes sense forthem to partner with VSO to give something back

worldwide. All their employees get the chance to usetheir skills to combat poverty in a developing country,with placements of 4 weeks to 9 months, working forlocal salary with local partners. By providing skills and

expertise instead of goods or money, they combatthe causes of poverty, not its symptoms.

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Giving Something Back

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goodneighbours

The Iceland Foods Charitable Foundation makesa point of supporting charities that struggle to find

the limelight. To keep staff personally involved, theycreated the 10% pot, which ring-fences that proportion

of funds raised to go to local charities nominatedby store teams. This year, that will mean over £50,000

goes to more than 270 small and local charities.

Giving Something Back

global,localnational,

Lexington Catering try to Give Something Back onvarious levels. Recognising their global responsibilities,

they took all their staff to a landfill site for an eye-opening reminder of their environmental impact. On a national level, they’re great supporters of Great Ormond Street Hospital School. Their Chief Director,

Rob Kirby, wrote a fundraising recipe book. And locally, they adopted a school near where the company first started – renovating its allotment, taking the children

on farm visits and teaching kids to cook.

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Giving Something Back

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triassicpark

The Clinton Devon Estates have their own patch ofhistory to preserve for the world: 3,000 acres of Triassic

Pebble-bed Heath! It’s a ‘Site of Special ScientificInterest’ that carries responsibilities for protection and

conservation. Thanks to the Estates’ stewardship,50,000 visitors a year get to enjoy this 240 million year old landscape. Lucky local schoolchildren even get tomeet the local prehistoric monster, Rhynchosaurus!

Giving Something Back

learningabout

Every year, Baker & McKenzie LLP run a PRIMEwork experience week, giving over 20 students from

less-privileged backgrounds a taste of life in a law firmusing workshops, projects and observation. It also

includes a formal dinner to allow both social interactionand a chance to practice what might be unfamiliar

etiquette. Every student has a mentor, and a key clientalso gets involved. The highlight of the week

in an ‘Apprentice’-style challenge with apresentation at the client’s HQ.

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the law

Giving Something Back

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waste not,want not!

Changing Lives operate their regional‘Fareshare’ programme, distributing high-quality,usable food to voluntary groups and food banks

instead of it going to landfill. In just six months, theyserved 67 different projects, distributing almost 200

tonnes of food to over 2,000 people. The volunteeringopportunities involved have been valuable too,

especially for people interested in catering, retail orwarehouse management work.

Giving Something Back

Feedback from ITC staff suggested they wanted moreUK charity involvement. Following an employee vote,

they teamed up with a national charity, MacmillanCancer Support and local respite home, Claire

House. A team of volunteers delivers a programme offundraising activities from climbing Snowdon to

bake-offs and Movember sponsorship. Theycommitted to raising £1000 for each charity by the

year’s end – a target they’ve comfortably surpassed.

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back in britainsomething

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Giving Something Back

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an idea tokick around

Coast & Country Housing combined charity with amajor social event by holding a charity football matchat Redcar Town FC’s ground. The trades’ team playedthe office staff and won 2-0… but more importantly,

they raised money for company charities and the localfood bank. The game was such a success that more

are already being planned – giving the officeteam a chance for revenge…

Giving Something Backdoing it

by the bookFor Global Reach Partners, giving money wasn’t

enough. They signed up with ‘Get London Reading’,paid for volunteers to be trained, and got stuck in,

sending 8 volunteers to read to underprivileged kidsin hackney. To involve everyone at the company,they invited the children to a boardroom lunch

and took them to the Bank of England Museum.

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Giving Something Back

CHS Group Community Investment are bankers– Time-bankers. ‘Timebanking’ is a volunteer skills

exchange that allows people to swap skills andservices. This could be ironing, giving IT advice or

just visiting and listening. Helping people counts as a deposit; asking for help is a withdrawal. CHS works hard to promote the scheme in Cambridgeshire and

encourages all its employees to participate.

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(time)bankat the

in credit

Giving Something Backwelcome

to the jungleOvo takes sustainability very seriously. For every

customer that signs up, they commit to protect anacre of rainforest. So far, that’s 70,000 acres protected,

keeping 18.2 million tonnes of CO2 out of theatmosphere. It’s good for the Peruvian Amazon forest,

for the tribes who live in it, for the wildlife itshelters – and for the whole planet.

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Giving Something Back

get your

straightpriorities

Hilti Group gives 1% of its net income every yearto a charitable foundation that sets clear priorities.

It focuses on Affordable Housing, CommunityDevelopment, Culture, Disaster Relief and Education

Worldwide. It also runs a Community Cooperativethat aims to foster skills and employment in local

communities; in the UK, it does valuablework in literacy and numeracy.

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Giving Something Backbzzzzzzzz…St Ermin’s hotel is hospitable to more than just itsguests. They’ve’ worked hard to create a home for local wildlife: birds, squirrels – and especially bees. Three custom-built hives are home to over 200,000

(famously good-natured, fortunately…) Buckfast honeybees. In summer, they hold beekeeping classes open to local residents, guests and staff, doing their

part to encourage this vital little industry.

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