Press release: You don’t have to be big to give something back

For immediate release

From a vehicle delivery specialist in Birmingham to a catering agency in Manchester, Volunteering England has sought out twelve small businesses around the country to show others don't have to be big to be able to give something back.

Over the past 15 years there has been a large-scale drive to encourage big firms to support employee volunteering and, as a result, many well-known names like Marks & Spencers and Barclays Bank have employee volunteering programmes in place and recognise the benefits to the company and staff in employee morale, staff retention and productivity.

Now national volunteer development organisation, Volunteering England, wants to spread the message to smaller companies that you don't need the budget of a multinational corporation to sponsor staff in their voluntary work.

In Manchester, small hospitality and catering agency, Gilds, worked on creating and applying a customer service and catering skills course for the inmates of the local women’s prison. Area Manager Fiona Lavery explains: ‘At first I was unsure – it was a situation totally out of my field of expertise. But as it turned out, the whole thing was fabulous.

‘At the end of the week-long course, we had a presentation evening with lots of local businessmen in attendance. The inmates used their new-found skills to serve the food and wine throughout the evening. All the guests were very impressed and complimented the service they received.’

When it came time to award the certificates, there was a gasp of surprise as the ladies came from behind the bar and buffet tables. Thanks to the efforts of Fiona’s team, the prison now employs a full-time tutor to maintain the course devised by Gilds who offer employment to the women upon release.

Michael Hutchings is Managing Director of Birmingham-based vehicle delivery specialist, United Fleet Distribution (UFD), a company with a staff of 51 whose team of drivers transport cars throughout the country providing vital support to the nation's major leasing companies and fleet car specialists. He explains: 'The reason I'm so keen on volunteering is that my employees get a great deal out of it. The staff who take part in the schemes are absolutely buzzing with it when they come back. And it creates a very positive atmosphere in the business - so the more people that take part the more that ask to be involved. More importantly, it's about putting something back and that's something I'm very committed to.'

Michael introduced a company policy whereby every employee receives two days paid leave every year, specifically for voluntary work. Using his connections with the local Education Action Zone, he began to involve UFD's volunteers in the organisation's work.

Christopher Spence, Chief Executive of Volunteering England added: ‘Small companies are an essential part of a thriving local community which is why we are so keen to spread the word about the good work they are doing with local charities, and to encourage other companies to follow suit.’

Businesses can visit www.volunteering.org.uk/sme now for a complete guide on setting up their own scheme and to see how it helped other small businesses around the country.

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Notes to Editors

• For more information on Volunteering England’s drive to support the development of similar programmes with SMEs please contact Cathy McBain on 020 7520 8959.

• For press enquiries please contact Kitsy Kinane on 07870 771 058 or email kitsykinane@aol.com. For out of hours press enquires contact Sonya Roberts on 07952 128 057.