Corporate Social Responsibility
• Why CSR? A PUK CSR programme offers an opportunity for PUK and its staff to make a contribution to the broader community on a collective basis.
• A CSR Committee was established in September 2006 with 6 committee members in order: (a) to develop and manage PUK’s institutional CSR policy and programme; (b) to manage PUK’s CSR funds, and (c) to develop and manage PUK’s sustainability policy.
• We work with two umbrella organisation – Business in the Community and Heart in the City– and with local charities.
• We Offer integration with the local community, support to the needy, and team/morale building for the business.
The Passage – PUK’s Partner Charity since 2008
• London's largest voluntary sector day centre for homeless people.
• The Passage provides resources, to encourage and inspire homeless people to transform their lives.
• Its history dates back to Vincent de Paul, a missionary priest and social reformer in the 17th century.
• Each day they help 250 homeless people.
• They have a 49-bed emergency hostel and 16 self-contained studio flats.
• The Passage costs £3.5 million a year to run. Half is from statutory sources and the rest comes from donations.
How PUK supports the Passage
• Volunteer Breakfasts
– Twice a month 4 people volunteer at each breakfast
• Sponsor Summer Garden Party which is held in Westminster Gardens
• Sponsor Winter Night Under The Stars Concert
• Clothes collection and donation
• Christmas Card donation - £500 p.a.
• Underwear donation (newly bought)
• Annual fund-raising event
Give and Gain Day
Give and Gain Day is an annual event run by Business in the Community. We have taken part in each of the last three years. Each year about 20 people from Partnerships UK have taken part.
Give and Gain Day 2007
In 2007 we paved a large area of under-used land at a primary school in NW London, along with a number of smaller pieces of work:
Give and Gain Day 2008
In 2008 we constructed a “nature walk” on hard-to-access land at the back of another primary school:
Give and Gain Day 2009
In 2009 we laid a large area of decking, again at a primary school, to provide a welcoming area for children and parents at the start and end of the day, and encourage greater participation in the school’s activities:
Other fundraising
We have organised a number of fundraising events, including the following:
- Children in Need - 2007
cream cracker-eating competition
Raised over £500
- Red Nose Day – 2009
Raised over £1000
Joint football tournament sponsored with Addleshaw Goddard – 2009
Raised £5,500 for The Passage with nine teams from both the private and public sector, including contractors, advisers, banks and other consultants.
Other Achievements
• Give as You Earn
– established January 2007
– achieved a Gold Star
– circa 15 members
• Volunteer Reading
– established September 2007
– circa 15 people involved
• Mentoring Scheme
– ran for a year
– circa 8 people involved
• Match Funding
– PUK has matched funds totalling £3681
• Recycling and sustainable policies - Improved recycling, printer settings.
In total about 75% of Partnerships UK have participated in CSR activities.
Quotes from Heart of the City following a review of our activities
“We were particularly impressed that you engaged your management (and that they are actively volunteering), this will certainly have helped encouraging other staff members.
The average for employee volunteering is 10-15% of staff, which you have definitely exceeded so congratulations!
You have built up a very successful relationship with the Passage.
You have some great ideas in the pipeline and I would encourage staff to feed ideas to you to create ownership and raise awareness
Your projects will undoubtedly have a significant impact on the people involved, for both staff and community groups so it's great that you are capturing some of that 'magic' for your newsletter.“