With the Summer holidays coming to an end, many of us are returning to the workplace ready to plan for projects and commitments on the run towards the end of the year.
For some, you might still be sitting with the offer of corporate volunteering hours, but no idea of where to start or how they could be used.
We’ve all heard the term corporate volunteering: organisations giving paid time off to employees, enabling them to support community groups or projects that they feel passionate about.
Did you know that there are around 11 million corporate volunteer days available each year from UK employers? But the reality, according to a recent article in the Financial Times, is that only 15% of UK based employees are using their volunteer days.
Accepting volunteer hours from the corporate community needs planning. Many roles in community groups need DBS checks, to ensure that vulnerable people are safe. With some forward thinking and planning, there are plenty of roles available where volunteers can still support those same charities in other roles.
Firstly, it needs a pro-active approach to know how many people might be available to help at any one time. What does that workforce look like? This forward planning could allow charities and community groups to allocate the resources to a project-based task. This is a fabulous opportunity for groups to commit to projects that might not be achieved without an injection of labour. It is also an opportunity for teams to work together on a common goal, sharing the feel-good factor of making a difference.
If working together as a team isn’t for you, with careful planning there could be an on-going commitment from an employee to a key role within a community group.
Planning also allows skills to be utilised. Many charities are on the lookout for IT support, financial support and assistance with social media. These tasks could be completed in smaller periods of time, over the year, rather than all on one day.
Breaking down the volunteer day to smaller time slots could also provide an innovative solution to the issue of planning the time away from the office. There are many tasks that could be achieved in smaller periods of time. A great example of this could be found working alongside a charity like Sight Concern and their members. Their low vision members might need a visit each week to read the post, help with a form or sit for a chat. An hour or two here and there can still make a good deal of difference to one person. Many community groups have broken down volunteer tasks into activities with a reduced commitment in time, providing volunteers with opportunities they can pick up little and often.
If you are an employee but haven’t yet committed your corporate volunteering roles this year, please get in touch to find out more about how you can a big difference in your community.
Malvern Hills Volunteering support community groups across the Malvern Hills District, we help match volunteer needs to volunteer hours. Volunteering@communityaction.org.uk
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