Employers pile pegs to promote volunteering values
by Oliver Maxwell, on 27th April 2007
Brighton and Hove businesses gathered to discover how employee volunteering leads to innovation and staff development as well benefiting the community at an interactive seminar held by the Business Community Partnership on Wednesday 25th April.
One thousand employees took part in over 100 team-building challenges that supported community groups last year – worth more than £76,000 in in-kind support to good causes in the city. Big employers such as The Argus, Working Links and Legal and General are already involved in the scheme, and the Business Community Partnership challenged more city businesses to get on board.
Last year's team building challenges included making over a community youth centre and helping make a local community gardening project accessible to people with disabilities and mental health problems.
Attendees at the event listed out the benefits of being involved and competed to build towers of pegs to show how different kinds of teamwork can build productivity and encourage innovation.
Charlie Allsebrook, who runs the project for the Business Community Partnership said "Businesses offering employee volunteers to local charities contributes enormously to the community – but there's so much they get in return! We're always finding new ways and new reasons for businesses to get involved."
At the event, BCP launched a new programme of ‘networking challenges' where people from several organisations can get to know each other by working together on a community project for a day. The first event is the ‘raspberry rescue', a fun challenge at Care Co-ops Community Farm.
Ian Taylor from Sabre Telecom said "It was a great event and really useful to see directly how other businesses have used employee volunteering to benefit the community, their staff and their businesses. I've signed up for one of BCP's new networking challenges to try it for myself and I'd encourage other companies to join us".
The event was held in the luxurious surroundings of the Hanbury Club over afternoon tea. It was supported by The Hanbury Club, Working Links, Legal and General and Springboard Coaching and The Argus.
Brighton and Hove Business Community Partnership is a social enterprise that brings together local businesses, community groups and public sector employees to encourage the development of a vibrant and inclusive city community. To find out more or to book a place on the new networking challenge call the office 01273 770075.
