13 February 2009
City Action plays successful Cupid in the City on Valentine's
Day
City of London Corporation acts as corporate Cupid between City
firms and community organisations
With Valentine’s Day just a day away, the City of London
Corporation’s corporate volunteer ‘match-making’ service, City
Action, reflected on its success setting up and maintaining “deep
and meaningful” relationships between City firms and community
organisations. City Action has seen a 27% increase in the number of
matches between businesses and community organisations in the last
six months, and facilitated 178 matches for community organisations
in 2008.
City Action is a ‘dating’ service for City firms and SMEs that
wish to volunteer with community organisations in the City fringe
boroughs to set up more long-term, satisfying relationships which
fulfill the needs of both parties. City Action facilitates meetings
between volunteering firms and their chosen community group or
charity, and provides guidelines relating to their volunteering
activity.
In such cross-sectoral projects, miscommunication and
conflicting agendas or timeframes are not infrequent – particularly
at the outset. City Action works as Cupid for the partners by
providing an intermediary liaison service. Each volunteering match
is followed up with an evaluation, which is of particular use to
CSR and HR departments, to look at the impact on the individual
volunteer and see which workplace skills were developed during
volunteering. This evaluation also looks at how well the
relationship is progressing as a whole.
Carolyn Housman, Corporate Responsibility Manager, City of
London Corporation, says, “City Action provides tailored advice to
make a good ‘match’ between the needs of a community organization
or charity, and the skills and services available from a particular
firm. City Action looks for shared ideologies and a mutually
beneficial relationship so the community organisation reaps the
social, physical and economic regeneration benefits while companies
gain strengthened company values, exposure to wider business
networks and new, innovative product ideas giving a great return
for a simple sharing of existing skills and resources.”
City Action has been running for 11 years since 1998 and is the
only free brokerage service of its kind. It has, in the last year
alone, has linked 45 active corporate partners with not-for-profit
and community organisations, charities and schools in the seven
City fringe boroughs. In the last five years, businesses have sent
over 5,000 volunteers to community groups due to City Action’s
matchmaking abilities. Their clients include Credit Suisse,
Barclays Bank plc, PRUPIM, Rothschild, Royal & SunAlliance and
State Street as well as SMEs throughout the Square Mile.
Ends
For further information, cases studies or quotes, please contact
Rain UK - Rosalind Jeffcoat or Lizzie Boylan Ward on 00 44 (0)20
7222 4345 or email
rosalind.jeffcoat@raincommunications.co.uk
Notes:
Established in 1998 by the City of London, City Action acts as a
free volunteering broker to facilitate the transfer of time, skills
and resources between City firms and community-based organisations
in the City and the seven surrounding boroughs: Camden, Hackney,
Islington, Lambeth, Southwark, Tower Hamlets and Westminster.
Engaging firms in practical activities enables them to contribute
to the social and economic regeneration of these boroughs. City
Action aims to put business at the heart of the community. See more
on www.city-action.org.
The City of London Corporation is the “business authority for
the business district” and supports the international financial
services industry based in the UK, with its heart in the Square
Mile. It provides local authority services for the Square Mile but
also works across wider London and UK.