01 June 2007. Swindon. Seven staff from Zurich have teamed up with WRVS as ‘trolley dollies’ to take snacks, toiletries, magazines and other essentials around the Great Western Hospital every Tuesday evening. It is believed to be the first evening trolley service in the UK. They are just completing their first year and want to celebrate this as part of Volunteers Week.
Tony Martin, Volunteer Manager for Zurich’s Community Trust “Our Zurich volunteers have turned up come rain or shower, they’ve been marvellous. The beauty of this scheme is that it raises money for WRVS which in turn gets ploughed back into the Great Western.” He added “What’s more, it’s a service really valued as much by the busy staff as the visitors who rush to get in to the hospital to see their loved ones after work. And of course, the patients love it too for a new magazine or that forgotten toiletry item.”
This initiative was developed through Swindon Employees in the Community Network which is a group made up of companies, charities and local government organisations. They have come together to develop employer supported volunteering across Swindon.
Zurich staff volunteer, Franki Amadio really enjoys it and added “It’s fun to do, you meet new and interesting people and what we do is really appreciated.”
Sue Creighton from WRVS, said “As far as we are aware this is the first evening trolley run in any hospital in the UK. We’d love other volunteers and companies to come forward to take responsibility for other evenings in the week to replicate this success.” Anyone interested should call her on 01793 722629.
This is just one of Zurich’s many volunteering events which are happening this week around the country.
Tony Martin, Zurich Community Trust’s Volunteer Manager commented “Over 30% of Zurich’s staff supports the community in some way, either through giving money, volunteering time or sharing business skills.” He continued “We run a number of volunteering activities for staff from one off team building events like our annual Challenge event. We even organise virtual volunteering such as phone support for vulnerable older people and e-befriending disabled children in India.”
The largest annual volunteering event in Zurich is Challenge 2007, which is now in its 16th year. Last year over 2,000 staff took part in 200 Challenges across the UK where staff teams get together to complete one-off projects, which benefit a local organisation. It creates awareness of community issues, can be fun and a teambuilding activity for those involved. When it was launched last month, over 50 Challenges have been taken up to support charities in Wiltshire by around 500 staff.
Over 22million people[1] are involved in volunteering in the UK every year and Volunteers’ Week, running fro 1-7 June, is an opportunity for organisations to publicly recognise the work of their volunteers. It also aims to raise the awareness of the benefits of giving time, inspiring a new generation of volunteers. Volunteers’ Week is co-ordinated in England by Volunteering England.
[1] http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/citizensurvey.html.
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For further information please contact:
Kate Hodges, Communications Manager, Zurich’s Community Trust on 01793 503711 or on her mobile on 07708 269653
Notes to Editors about Zurich’s Community Trust
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Zurich Community Trust (UK) Limited is a registered charity funded by pre-tax profits from Zurich and donations from Zurich’s staff. It provides an umbrella for all Zurich’s community involvement in the UK.
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By giving time, money and skills donated from Zurich and its employees in the UK we help disadvantaged people to achieve independence.
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Zurich Community Trust manages and matches Zurich employees' and financial advisers' £1 million donations, 46,000 hours of volunteering including around 200 team challenges involving 1,600 staff.
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Zurich Community Trust Programmes create sustainable change through long-term funding and active employee involvement. The Trust works closely with innovative partners to make significant impact on the lives of disadvantaged people in the UK and overseas. These programmes tackle drug misuse in families, social exclusion and the most vulnerable older people’s issues. In addition, there is a programme in southern India sharing Zurich business skills to help build capacity of Indian NGO’s. Mental Health and Families is the latest programme as other programmes come to their natural end.
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Visit Zurich’s website on www.zurich.org.uk for more details.
About Volunteer's week and volunteering facts
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In England, half of all people have volunteered (formally or informally) at least once a month. This translates to 20.4 million people. This is a significant increase from 2001 (47% and 18.8 million people),
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/citizensurvey.html.
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Volunteering England works to promote volunteering as a powerful force for change, both for those who volunteer and for the wider community. For further information go to
www.volunteering.org.uk or call 0845 305 6979.
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Over 22million people
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/citizensurvey.html. are involved in volunteering in the UK every year and Volunteers’ Week is an opportunity for organisations to publicly recognise the work of their volunteers. It also aims to raise the awareness of the benefits of giving time, inspiring a new generation of volunteers. Volunteers’ Week is co-ordinated in England by Volunteering England.
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