In 2011, 22% of our staff across London volunteered in their local community and in 2012 the figure rose to 42% of staff. Here are some examples:
Brent
Staff in Brent spent their day volunteering at Vernon House School, which is a small special school catering for boys and girls with behavioural, emotional and social difficulties.
The staff spent their time clearing an area and helping to create a vegetable patch, helped to build and paint a summer house, internal and external painting and assisting with classroom repairs.
Lambeth
Over 100 staff from Lambeth used their volunteering to help with the Brixton Windmill Parade and Festival, a major community event for the area. Staff helped decorate floats with recycled materials, some volunteered as stewards during the festival procession and some staff provided first aid at the festival.
The day saw a refuse collection vehicle be transformed into a whale and a street sweeping vehicle into a pink elephant!
Richmond
Staff from the Richmond landscapes team used their expertise when they spent their time volunteering helping the Edible Bus Stop group. They helped the group construct their garden at the Hampton Court Flower Show. The garden, entitled 'A Riot of Colour' showed the benefit of green space over grey landscapes in inner city environments.
The team also helped to transport the garden from the Hampton Court Flower Show to the London Pleasure Gardens.
Tower Hamlets
Volunteers from our Tower Hamlets team used their volunteering allowance to spruce up an overgrown area of Fish Island in Bow, which is close to the Olympic Games site. The team worked alongside Tower Hamlets Council staff to ensure that the area was in tiptop condition in time for the Olympics.
Westminster
A team of managers from Westminster spent their half day volunteering at NEWPIN Family Centre in Lisson Grove. The centre works with parents and families in the local area who have children under the age of five.
The team spent their time painting fences, weeding, sweeping and flushing the playground and surrounding area. A total of 1.5 tonnes of rubbish was cleared from the site.
