Does your firm have social conscience? Emma can help
KIRKLEES-BASED charity One Community Foundation has announced plans to support people from the business and voluntary sectors – so that they can come together and tackle some of the district’s challenges.
Leading the drive to generate more volunteers and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) opportunities for local businesses is newlyappointed community links manager Emma Woods-Bolger.
Emma joins One Community with 20 years of experience across both the business and voluntary sectors, and will use her experience to connect people who care with local causes that matter.
Last year One Community Foundation distributed more than £350,000 in grant funding to support grassroots community groups across Kirklees.
The foundation is ‘cause neutral’ and so acts as an informed and professional channel for the charitable giving of both businesses and individuals in the local community.
Having developed knowledge through engagement with their community, the foundation is bestplaced to ensure business CSR can make the biggest possible impact.
One community foundation plans to connect businesses interested in supporting the work of local charities and community groups, who are often working in challenging circumstances, and in some of the most deprived areas.
Emma said: “Many Kirklees-based businesses are already supporting the work of charities; and whilst there is a huge variety of worthy national charities, it is often the local, smaller ones that go unnoticed and miss out on support from their own community.
“We would like to see an increase in support for small local charities, which do not have the budget or resources to make themselves known to local businesses.
“We would particularly encourage businesses to engage with us in a conversation about the mutual benefits of employer supported volunteering (ESV), and skills-based volunteering, to the charities, the businesses, and their employees.”
ESV is where the employees of an organisation take paid time off to volunteer during work hours.
Employees can use their volunteering time, typically one to two days per year, to support a charity or community group opportunity.
Projects typically include practical tasks such as going to a homelessness shelter and assisting with the food service, helping run an activities day at an elderly care home or helping to run a sports day for disabled people, painting and decorating at a hospice or organising or taking part in fundraising days and activities.
Skills-based volunteering leverages the specialised skills and talents of individuals to strengthen the infrastructure of charities. Tasks typically include, advising on HR issues and policies, business planning, advice on tendering and applying for funding, marketing advice and support, and website development.
Emma added: “If time is scarce, businesses can also volunteer their space for a good cause. They might consider using their store front as a drop-off location for charity collections and local food banks.”
Paul Johnson, general manager of One Community, said: “Emma will play a vital role developing and sustaining relationships between the voluntary and private sectors, and we welcome her to our team.”