BT staff volunteering in Scotland gives more than £1 million boost to charitable causes
BT staff volunteering in Scotland gives more than £1 million boost to charitable causes
BT workers in Scotland spend more than 3,330 days a year supporting charities and community groups, it was revealed today. The 24,190 hours of volunteering is estimated to be worth more than £1 million annually.
Across the world, thousands of communities and charities have benefitted from an increase in volunteering by BT employees this year, after the company saw a 62 per cent rise in people contributing to good causes.
To mark National Volunteers’ Week (Monday, 1 June – Sunday, 7 June), BT revealed that, in the past year, 26 per cent of BT people worldwide spent 53,000 days supporting more than 3,700 charities and community groups, raising more than £80 million for good causes.
BT runs its own volunteering programme, helping charitable organisations to thrive and grow thanks to the generosity and help of its employees. The programme enables BT employees to use up to three days of working time each year for community and charitable work. This provides communities with tens of thousands of days of support each year, worth millions of pounds.
Employees at BT also take time out of their working life and spare time to contribute to a range of initiatives such as coaching in sport, charity fundraising, mentoring young people and community initiatives, being some examples.
In Scotland, BT volunteers are involved in activities ranging from football coaching and running clubs to working in schools and hospices, supporting major events like the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games, being members of the Territorial Army and Children’s Panels, and raising funds for charities. One example is the support provided to more than 900 Young Engineer and Science Clubs across the country. Volunteers help young people obtain the skills and confidence required to enter STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) roles. This Friday (5 June) BT volunteers will support the annual Celebration of Science event at the Glasgow Science Centre when primary and secondary school children from across Scotland will demonstrate their science and engineering projects.
BT is committed to investing at least one per cent of BT Group pre-tax profits in charities and community organisations each year, through a mix of direct funding and in-kind support.
BT is looking to encourage more employees to participate further, volunteer in areas they excel in and has the ambition for two-thirds of employees to spend time volunteering to support good causes by 2020. BT also works alongside BBC Children in Need, Comic Relief, ChildLine and Disasters Emergency Committee with numerous BT employees volunteering during frequent telethons at the BT Tower in London and at call centres like the ones in Glasgow and Dundee to raise money during appeals.
It is also two years since the launch of BT’s Supporters Club, an initiative aimed at building a better world through sport. BT Sport customers can make a recurring monthly donation of £1, £3 or £5 to The Supporters Club via their bill. The donations are spent by Comic Relief, the charity partner, on projects that use sport as an enabler for social change, helping disadvantaged young people in the UK and abroad. Over the coming year, BT is going to encourage its employees to volunteer even more with charities that are benefitting from The Supporters Club grants.
Sir Michael Rake, Chairman of BT Group, said: “Our people contribute to their communities in many ways and I’m proud of our strong volunteering ethos throughout BT. We strongly believe volunteering is good for employees and the business, as well as benefitting charities and communities they support.”
BT Scotland director Brendan Dick said: “Hundreds of BT people across Scotland play a vital role in the community as volunteers. Many of them readily give hundreds of hours of their own time each year helping to make our country a better place to live and work. Their tireless efforts are another example of the leading role BT and its people play in Scotland. Whether it’s volunteering, providing services such as superfast broadband, or being a major employer, we have a powerful presence in every community in Scotland. BT is a worldwide company with very strong local roots.”
