Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) creates a culture of care in your company, can boost staff morale, promoting a sense of camaraderie and pride.
For the past 12 years, one of Scotland's leading firms of Independent Financial Advisers, Central Investment, has supported local charity Home-Start Aberdeen, but feel they have gained far more than has been given.
In 2003, Central Investment made its first donation of £500 to the North-East voluntary organisation, marking the company’s 30th anniversary. It was from here that the whole team became passionate about the charity and what it stood for, and intrigued as to how they could further support the worthwhile cause.
Since 1987 Home-Start Aberdeen has been dedicated to promoting the welfare of families with young children, recruiting and training volunteers, who are usually parents themselves, to visit families in their homes with at least one child under five.
Central Investment has participated in a variety of fundraising events spanning more than a decade in support of the charity, with the money being used to help recruit and train more volunteers, raise awareness through various marketing platforms and increase the charity’s service offering.
In May this year, Home-Start received £2,500 from Central Investment after a team of five employees took part in the Baker Hughes 10k. The money helped support the charity’s recent office move, providing a new, larger space to accommodate an increase in 50 additional volunteers, allowing the charity to train them internally.
Scheme Manager at Home-Start Aberdeen, Georgette Cobban, said:
“The whole team at Central Investment have been amazing, and given a great deal of support over the years. It’s important for other organisations to know, it’s not all about money when supporting charities, it’s often the smaller practical tasks that can make a long term difference.”
The company regularly provides raffle prizes for Home-Start events, and staff frequently organise collections for the charity shop amongst friends and family. The charity also has access to Central Investments boardroom on weekends or evenings, creating a central hub for trustee meetings and team building events.
However, it is the dedicated and selfless volunteers Central Investment has shaped that Home-Start is particularly grateful for.
Every year, the charity works with around 200 families across the city, and in order to keep supporting local families, it continually requires more volunteers.
Derek Robertson, Managing Director at Central Investment said: “We have been long-term supporters of the charity, and over the years the team have jumped at the chance to support it.
Some staff members have even gone that one step further by dedicating their time to volunteering and becoming an integral part of the Home-Start team.
“One of our advisors even suggested Home-Start to a client who was interested in volunteering and, ten years later, she continues to donate her time and support to the charity.“
Georgette continues: “Our volunteers are paramount to the work we do at Home-Start and the support we can offer to local families. The Central Investment team have always been wonderful at raising funds for the charity, however, by dedicating their time to volunteer they are making a real and lasting difference to families across the North-East.”