Volunteering
Employer-supported schemes for volunteering involve 1.5 million employees in England and Wales giving time worth £1.1 billion, a government report has said.
Government Response: Home Office
Home Office minister Fiona Mactaggart said: "That business provides the equivalent of £1.1 billion in volunteering shows what a powerful force for change corporate action can be."
Stakeholder Response: Royal British Legion
Russell Thompson, director of fundraising, said: "The Royal British Legion is acutely aware of the value of volunteers and is currently running a campaign to attract volunteers to collect for the Poppy Appeal during the first two weeks of November.
"At the launch of the campaign on September 6, celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay set an example by giving an hour from his hectic schedule to give his support.
"Currently the Poppy Appeal raises nearly half the £50 million that the Legion spends on welfare work. By increasing the number of collectors by just 10 per cent - that's 30,000 people - it could generate and additional £1.5 million (assuming an average of £50 per collector) . We hope people everywhere will back this campaign and volunteer just a few hours of their time.
"Last year the Legion found it didn't have enough people on the street to meet demand. Without extra volunteers the Legion will not be able to raise the essential funds to meet the still-rising demand from the ex-service community.
"If any ePolitix.com user wishes to volunteer, call 0800 0855 924 or email poppypeople@britishlegion.org.uk."
Stakeholder Response: ChildLine
Justin Irwin, ChildLine's national director, said: "It is fantastic to see that so many employees are getting involved in company-backed voluntary work. Volunteers are at the heart of ChildLine's vital work - without them the charity simply could not provide its unique service to children - but we urgently need more to get involved.
"A recent survey by ChildLine revealed that working is no barrier to volunteering; many ChildLine volunteers have full time jobs, and 59 per cent said that volunteering had a positive impact on the skills they used at work.
"This week ChildLine launched its first ever UK-wide volunteer recruitment campaign, 'Whatever you do, you could do this too', with the aim of increasing its volunteer force by 50 per cent across the UK in the next six months."
Stakeholder Response: Rotary International
Gordon McInally, president of Rotary International in
"Rotarians in
"We have a long track record of success in volunteering, we celebrate our centennial in February 2005. We welcome approaches from businesses who would like to involve their staff in volunteering in their local community. Please contact Robin Freeman on 01789 765411 or robinf@ribi.org."
Stakeholder Response: Depression Alliance
"The research produced some results which employers may find very interesting, including: Half of people (48 per cent) who have volunteered for more than two years say volunteering makes them less depressed.
"Seventy one per cent of volunteers who offer their professional skills and experience say volunteering helps combat depression.
"Sixty three per cent of 25 to 34-year-olds say volunteering helps them feel less stressed.
"Sixty two per cent of over 65's say volunteering reduces stress.
"Almost 1 in 3 (31 per cent) 18 to 24-year-olds say they have taken less time off work since volunteering.
"Volunteers make it possible for Depression Alliance to carry out its vital work, whether as trustees, group organisers or administrators. It is thanks to volunteers that Depression Alliance is able to help thousands of people every year and we are very pleased to learn that volunteering is one way people living with depression can help themselves."
Stakeholder Response: Nationwide
A spokesman for Nationwide said: "Nationwide seeks to encourage and enable employees to participate in voluntary charitable activities.
"In addition to our flagship charity, Macmillan Cancer Relief, all employees are free to fund raise for other local and national charities, and these are often incorporated into team building events.
"'The longest day' was a recent organisation-wide initiative. The objective was for as many business areas and employees as possible to pledge to undertake a physical activity for the benefit of their local community. It resulted in over 650 employees pledging nearly 3,500 hours of activity, ranging from decorating rooms in a hospice in Swindon to practical habitat management of woodlands at the Wildlife Trust in Dorset.
"Approximately 65 per cent of our employees participate in voluntary charitable activities (eg. payroll giving, volunteering, etc). By supporting these employees we ensure that we can link our community action with the issues that are relevant to our employees' and members' communities.
"There is no formal policy on employee support, such as taking time off for volunteering or community activity. Managers are, however, encouraged to allow time off for community volunteering as this can play a positive part in personal development."
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