Volunteering & Volunteer Students

From community support on a global scale to making a difference on a local one. Wates has established an annual community day, when staff from across the UK give their time to help local causes. Its third annual community day was held in September, when 67 projects benefited from over 8,000 hours of volunteers' time. These included hostels, day centres and community buildings.

The construction industry has a wealth of skilled and experienced employees that can make a massive difference to the internal and external environments of a community in a very short space of time. Cleaner, brighter and well-maintained surroundings promote pride in local communities, which in turn reduces social problems such as vandalism.

Wates' initiative demonstrates the difference one day per year can make, if a company enables its workforce. Businesses need to provide the opportunity for staff to spend one day per year in a voluntary capacity. The benefits are not limited to the communities helped - employees feel positive about their involvement and that of their company's too.

Volunteering on this scale must be led from the top, down - while it is up to all of us to influence senior management with ideas and proposals, they are the only ones who can enable such activity en masse within a business.