West Midlands businesses urged to volunteer for Give & Gain Day 2012

Businesses in the West Midlands are being urged to sign up and give their staff the opportunity to volunteer on Give & Gain Day 2012, which is taking place on 18 May.

Organised by Business in the Community, Give & Gain Day is the UK’s only national day of employee volunteering, which encourages thousands of volunteers from around the country to volunteer their time and expertise during work hours on projects which make a difference in their community.

Businesses signing up will have the chance to take part in a giant Sporting Extravaganza at Tipton Sports Academy and a `Fit for Fun’ event at Keresley Grange School in Coventry. The events will bring together over 500 children from primary and secondary schools in the region, with the aim of showing them that physical activity can be fun. Business in the Community is looking for teams of employee volunteers to devise and run physical activities suitable for children aged 9 to 11 at both events.

In addition, companies can volunteer to help local community organisations with practical projects such as painting, decorating or gardening, delivering programmes in schools or working with homeless people. 

Companies already signed up to take part in Give & Gain Day this year include Jaguar Land Rover, Lloyds Banking Group, Squire Sanders, Hadley Group, A F Blakemore Ltd, Morgan Sindall and T D Waterhouse.

Businesses in the West Midlands have a strong history of supporting volunteering in the local community. Last year   30 companies in the region sent out over 500 volunteers on Give & Gain Day – donating over 4000 hours to benefit thousands of people in disadvantaged communities in the region. Companies including Morrison Facilities, GVA, the Midcounties Co-operative, DTZ, Beachcroft LLP, Wolseley UK, NP Aerospace and E.on collectively ran activities to improve young people’s employability skills.

David Darlaston, Director at Business in the Community West Midlands said “Give & Gain Day 2012 is the chance for companies to show that they are really committed to their communities. The impact and change that people can affect is remarkable, and first-hand experience builds skills and motivation in a unique way. Employees taking part part in Give & Gain Day have increased loyalty towards and perception of their employer as a result”.

The biggest corporate investor in UK communities, and Sponsor of Give and Gain Day, Lloyds Banking Group firmly believes its economic contribution to society will help build thriving communities. It supports this through active investment in communities and a charitable giving programme. 

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