Corporate Volunteering and Volunteering Though Your Workplace

More and more organisations are introducing volunteer programs for their staff. Many organisations view volunteering as part of their corporate social responsibility commitments. Corporate volunteer programs often allow staff between one and three days leave per year to work on approved volunteer activities. For example, staff at an investment bank in Sydney spend a couple of days per year running financial management courses for teenagers in western Sydney. Some organisations close down for one day per year so that all staff can participate in projects such as tree planting or bush regeneration. Other organisations link up with a specific program such as reading in schools where staff volunteer their time for a few hours per week. Other organisations support staff to find the volunteering opportunity that suits their skills and geographic location.

If you currently work in an organisation, ask your colleagues, a supervisor or contact your human resources representative to find out whether your company has a corporate volunteer program.

For more general information go to the Corporate Volunteering page on the NSW Centre for Volunteering website. There you will find opportunities for employees to match their skills to opportunities, the results of corporate volunteering research and organisational case studies.