Employer supported volunteering (ESV), or corporate volunteering, is where the employees of an organisation take time to volunteer during work hours or organise volunteer activities. Employees might choose to support a charity or community group, or take up an opportunity provided by their workplace.
Here at Action Together we like to put into practice what we offer, giving all our employees the opportunity to volunteer. We recognise the importance of volunteering in the community and actively encourage and enable our employees to participate in local volunteering activities.
Employees are entitled to an agreed amount of paid leave, per financial year, to engage in voluntary work with a registered VCFSE organisation whose work benefits communities in Oldham, Rochdale, and/or Tameside.
Charly, Nayan and Trish spent a few hours volunteering, here is what they said:
Where did you volunteer?
We volunteered at Wildbrook Community Garden.
Why did you choose to volunteer there?
We chose to volunteer there because they are transforming an area which was previously abandoned into a vital community hub - they grow food for the local community, provide planters for local youth groups and refugee support groups so they can play a part in the project, and run occasional forest school sessions for local schools and other events for local families. They're also aiming to build an onsite kitchen in the future so they can bring people together to cook sustainable, nutritious meals with the produce they grow. The project is volunteer led, with Lina and Dave often spending 3 days a week of their own time working on its development.
What did you do while volunteering?
We picked fruit and cleared the ground of any spoiled fruit which had fallen from the trees.
What did you get from it?
We got to spend the day outside in the fresh air working with colleagues and community members. Searching for the perfect pear was way more exciting than we expected!
Why is employer supported volunteering important/rewarding?
Employer Supported Volunteering is important because it provides opportunities to support our local communities and share what we do at Action Together. It shows we practice what we preach and it provides employees with the opportunity to take part in activities we wouldn't usually experience and spend time with colleagues we might otherwise not get to see much of.
How has Action Together supported you to volunteer?
Action Together's ESV Policy means we're able to volunteer during the workday, meaning there's a greater variety of voluntary opportunities available to us. Our connections with local VCFSE organisations and the work of our amazing Volunteering Team also mean that we get to hear about volunteering roles and sessions that we might not have found for ourselves.
