Waikato businesses that provide staff with a day to volunteer can get support through a free corporate programme.
Corporate volunteering is an opportunity for staff and businesses to actively support the community where they are based, says Volunteering Waikato general manager Heather Moore.
Volunteering Waikato offers the free corporate volunteering programme to simplify the process.
It offers a range of projects, with flexibility around time, and can often be tailored to suit specific requirements.
“There are a number of very good reasons to promote workplace volunteering, both for the staff team and the business as a whole,” Moore says.
“A range of research suggests that employees are more engaged and productive, and companies experience lower turnover levels.
Corporate volunteering is an effective team building activity, and it is now widely recognised that millennials are now considering contribution to the community as part of what makes a potential employer attractive.”
One organisation to have taken advantage of the benefits is Te Ao Mārama School.
Before it opened last year, the staff wanted to take part in volunteering and community engagement.
Deputy principal Anna Pratt contacted Volunteering Waikato, and staff ended up volunteering at Hospice Waikato, Wilson Carlile and Sunningdale rest homes.
Anna Pratt said the new school chose Community Minded as one of its five values. “It is therefore important that we (staff, students, whānau) actively seek opportunities to be community minded wherever possible, not only to honour this value but also to regularly see and feel the benefits of assisting others while encouraging others to do the same,” she said.
“By working together to help others we also enhance our team culture and reap the benefits of collaboration, another one of our school values that we can live and breathe through opportunities such as volunteering in our community.”
During the past year Volunteering Waikato has organised more than 90 projects, including environmental roles, community lunches, event support, Christmas gift wrapping, Kaumatua Olympics and book fairs.
Opportunities are listed on the Volunteering Waikato website. Businesses can choose an existing role, or the Volunteering Waikato staff can help the team define their interests, help find a project that suits the needs and goals of a business, and link the business with a community organisation that has a suitable project.
If you would like to find out how Volunteering Waikato can help you get involved in the community check out their website www.volunteeringwaikato.org.nz , give them a call 07 8393191 or email projects@volunteeringwaikato.org.nz.
