Social Vision is a huge champion of profit with purpose – running a traditional business, but reinvesting time, money or resources into supporting less fortunate communities. We are privileged to know many local business owners in York, of all shapes and sizes, who care about their community and the wider City.
In larger companies, this is often referred to as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) – and many companies in York are taking this very seriously – from Health and Wellbeing for staff, through to large mobilisation of volunteers and sponsorship of small charities.
CSR is now recognised as a surefire way to retain staff, increase brand loyalty and improve your company’s PR profile; but it is having long-lasting benefits way beyond the water cooler. I caught up with York Cares recently to find out more:
York Cares work with local organisations (for example Aviva. Benenden, First York, John Lewis and Portakabin) and create opportunities for their employees to volunteer on community projects around the City that benefit the wider community (for example, reinstating footpaths or transforming an outdoor space) .
Employers are reporting that when their staff have the opportunity to volunteer they feel happier and more motivated within their everyday work. This creates higher productivity and staff morale, which in turn leads to more output/profit. So essentially it’s an easy win:win argument!
And York Cares stressed to me that to work with them you don’t have to totally know what you want to achieve. A lot of approaches to York Cares are through staff teams, and occasionally specially appointed staff, whose role is to create links to the community. York Cares provides support and guidance, alongside introductions, to ensure the staff team get the most from the opportunity.
Some organisations want to do a half day of volunteering and not think too much about it, others want to share skills and see how the volunteering benefits the community, others want lasting relationships working alongside a community organisation on a shared long term vision. Workforces in large companies are hugely diverse, with different skills, personal experiences and motivations, and it’s not uncommon for staff to offer extra support to small organisations, sometimes by way of communications or accountancy, or perhaps fundraising or events support. As many charities are run on a shoestring, reliant on dwindling funds and grants, this injection of fresh perspective and expertise can be a huge boost!
York Cares’ vision is to make York a better place for everyone. And indeed, why not? So give York Cares a call on 01904 323482 today, or check out them directly on http://www.yorkcares.co.uk
To get a flavour of York Cares 2018 Big Community Challenge – have a look what they have in store here http://www.yorkcares.co.uk/about/blog/getting-ready-for-big-community-challenge-2018/
