500 West Midlands’ employees ‘give and gain’ to support more than 700 youngsters into work

More than 500 workers from across the West Midlands are swapping their usual Friday at work for a day giving something back to their local community.

The volunteers, from 50 companies including AF Blakemore, Jaguar Land Rover, Lloyds Banking Group, Martineau, and NP Aerospace, are taking part in Give & Gain Day , the UK’s only national day of employee volunteering.

Run by Business in the Community (BITC), the campaign provides organisations with a unique opportunity to make a difference to the communities they operate in with this year’s push focusing on providing pupils from 19 schools with a host of employment skills and crucial jobs hints.

Teams of volunteers will descend on three simultaneous events at Birmingham City University, University of Wolverhampton and University of Warwick to provide mock job interviews, guidance on writing CVs, presentation training, telephone skills and ‘What’s my line’ quiz game where you have to guess what jobs people do.

There will be a fourth main Give & Gain challenge taking place in Bordesley Green, with six companies joining forces to repaint corridor/rooms and transform the shabby looking garden at Alderman Bowen Day Centre

Other projects will also be taking place in the West Midlands, including Muller Dairy and Midcounties Co-operative at Hanwood Community Centre (Shrewsbury), Arquiva at St Mary’s Immaculate School (Coventry), Veolia Environmental Services at Secret Garden (Birmingham) and Knight Solicitors in Stoke-on-Trent.

David Darlaston, Chief Executive at BITC in the West Midlands, was delighted at the take-up from local businesses.

“Once again companies in the West Midlands have stepped up to the challenge and really embraced Give & Gain Day and what it is intended to achieve.

He continued: “There is increasing political and public focus on localism and people being empowered to make a personal difference in their communities. Volunteering is one way in which businesses can start to build real relationships and help to transform the communities they live and work in. 

“Staff benefit too as it’s a valuable way to have fun, learn and develop new skills.”

Give & Gain Day is bigger and better this year with more participants and employers signed up than ever before. Volunteers from the West Midlands are in good company, joining an international army of over 17,000 who are out and about making a positive difference in their local communities.

In a recent consultation with its membership Business in the Community identified employee volunteering as one of the key ways that businesses can develop meaningful sustainable relationships with communities.

Alexandra High Schools’ Sally Stone added her support: “Volunteers are invaluable to our school and we wouldn’t be able to meet the needs of our pupils without their time and dedication. We’re delighted that so many businesses could take part and are using Give & Gain Day 2011 to volunteer with us. They certainly worked hard, but had a lot of fun as well.”

David Richardson, Regional MD at Lloyds Banking Group, agreed: “Lloyds Banking Group are sponsoring Give & Gain Day, where over 2000 colleagues will be taking part in supporting their local communities.  Physical teambuilding challenges as well as Employability and Education Workshop support will be provided to over 70 community groups throughout 12 regions in the UK and also in New York!

“In Birmingham over 150 people are involved, in a whole range of activities from decorating to Employability Workshops, to ground works and introducing a maths challenge at a City school.”

Schools taking part include:

• Heath Park, RSA Academy, Alexandra High, Kings, Sir John Talbot (all Black Country),
  
• Stockland Green, Washwood Heath Technology College, Heartlands Academy, Broadway School, Bordesley Green Girls School, International School (all Birmingham)
  
•  Barr’s Hill, Cardinal Newman, Cardinal Wiseman, Ernesford Grange, President Kennedy, Stoke Park and Woodlands (all Coventry and Warwickshire).

Give & Gain Day is run by Business in the Community, with national sponsors Lloyds Banking Group, Eversheds LLP and Hewlett Packard in association with BT and GyroHSR.

For more details contact Alison Maxam