Notting Hill Housing Trust has over 18,000 homes across London and retains a close affinity with its local communities, focusing on building sustainable communities rather than houses.
Following the success of the Trust’s external volunteering project (local and city-based companies send teams to spend a day to clear gardens and decorate homes for elderly/ill tenants, as well as organising day trips and lunchtime gardening projects), the Trust employer supported volunteering programme for its own employees gives office based employees the opportunity to meet tenants, improves communications across the organisation and demonstrates to external clients that the Trust is prepared to roll up its sleeves and get involved.
The programme includes a primary school reading scheme. Employees also have the opportunity to help a local tenant for an hour once a week or once a fortnight on gardening projects, and are now embarking on a mentoring scheme supporting tenants who have been out of work for a long period of time.
All schemes have helped improve communication across the organisation, developed links with the community and enabled employees to get a glimpse of what life is like for those less fortunate.
Taken from Employer Supported Volunteering – the guide. This new publication, published by Volunteering England and written in collaboration with Business in the Community and supported by Abbey, will tell you everything you need to know about employer supported volunteering.
