Community volunteering: Why local action is the key to your corporate volunteering program
Volunteering can take countless shapes and sizes, but community volunteering is an essential part of any corporate volunteering program. Local action can have the biggest visible impact when it comes to doing good, and its immediacy is a huge boost in employee satisfaction scores through volunteering.
We’ll walk through:
What community volunteering looks like
How you can find community volunteering near you
Why community volunteering matters
Examples from OnHand’s partner organisations
Your next steps to including community volunteering in your corporate volunteering program
Make the most of your corporate volunteering offering by getting involved in local community good. Find out how!
What does community volunteering look like?
Community volunteering isn’t a one-size-fits-all activity. Any volunteering activity that benefits a local area or specific place can count as community volunteering.
In fact, community projects don’t necessarily have to be done on-site, but most community volunteering involves getting out of the house or office and getting stuck into an activity with your team, your friends, or with other like-minded volunteers who are looking to do some good.
Some initial examples from our OnHand partners include:
Getting stuck into farm work at Hackney City Farm (Wilton & Bain)
Having a Cards For Bravery session, working on cheerful cards to send to children in hospitals (TotallyMoney)
Setting up a Big Food Shop, where donations go to a local food bank (Born Social)
Community volunteering can take many shapes. After all, communities don’t come in one shape, and it’s important to understand that when looking for community good.
Wilton & Bain at Hackney City Farm
TotallyMoney create Cards For Bravery
Born Social host a Big Food Shop
How can I find community volunteering near me?
Community volunteer opportunities are everywhere, but not everyone knows where to look for them. After all, community project ideas have never been more popular; businesses supporting charities is a huge part of many organisations’ 2024 CSR programs.
To find community volunteering near you, there are a few options:
Use an impact platform like OnHand, which will suggest ideas and help you organise team missions
Utilise your impact teams if you have them
Examine your business partners to see if you’re connected to charities who could use help
Use social media sites like LinkedIn and Facebook groups to look out for charities seeking volunteers
Spread the word! Chat to your friends and neighbours about wanting to get stuck into community volunteering and somebody might just have the answer for you
Why does community volunteering matter?
Community volunteering lies at the core of our values as a society. It is a way to form connections, lend your skills, and make a real difference in the world. We can often feel disconnected and without purpose at work, which is exactly where volunteering comes in. It’s proven to boost happiness and a sense of purpose.
Community volunteering also matters from a business standpoint. When potential employees see your employees doing good, it’s far easier to attract and retain top talent. Not only that, engaged employees help boost your bottom line.
In summary:
77% of employees aren’t engaged at work (Gallup)
74% of employees say volunteerism provides an improved sense of purpose (Deloitte)
Retention triples at companies where employees feel their work has meaning and is more than “just a job” (Great Place To Work Institute)
Companies with highly engaged employees are 23% more profitable (Gallup)
Community volunteering ideas
Company volunteer days are a great way to get stuck into community volunteering. Many of OnHand’s partner organisations get together to do community good, such as:
The Alamy India team spent a day renovating a local kindergarten
Various BUUK teams spent time at local farms, parks, and National Trust sites for site maintenance
Everyday Loans got stuck in with tree planting at Re-Leaf Marlow
The Technology Leasing team dived into food prep for homeless individuals at a local community centre
Third Space got together for a local litter pick
The Alamy India team on their group volunteering day
BUUK mucking in
Tree planting with Everyday Loans
Technology Leasing provide warm food to the homeless
The Third Space team after a successful litter pick
What should you do next?
To know how to implement community volunteering at work, it’s important to have a strong CSR program in place. It’ll also help to further understand the benefits of community action, as well as the business case for doing good.
Check out our further reading recommendations:
Why a strong CSR program is key to attract and retain talent
Social proof: The most effective ways to showcase your CSR activities
The final step is to get stuck in! Get searching for community volunteering opportunities near you.
If you don’t already have a volunteering or impact team, see if there are some like-minded individuals at your organisation who want to champion community action. Create time to do good: the benefits are invaluable.
Conclusion
Whether you’re looking to make a prolonged impact, or just want to complete a one-off session for a corporate volunteer day, community volunteering is a great way to get stuck in. You can take part in local conservation like the Flutter team at Holland Park, or you could lend a hand with maintenance like Portico at Hackney City Farm.
Whatever you’re into, community volunteering is a fantastic way to team-build, motivate, boost purpose, and have a good day out.
Need some help with community volunteering? Speak with us today to see how we can help your team.
The Flutter team volunteering at Holland Park
Portico at Hackney City Farm
