News

Newsletter, June 2009

A brief update on what's been keeping us busy in 2009, some thoughts on why developing people and connecting with non-profit organisations and social issues is more important than ever and a plug for the Guardian Public Service Awards 2009.

Welcome to our occasional newsletter. We let you know what's been keeping us busy in 2009 and we share some thoughts on why developing people and connecting with non-profit organisations and social issues is more important than ever. We're also plugging the Guardian Public Service Awards 2009 and mentioning our recruitment plans.

Promoting the Guardian's values through community projects
We're excited to have been working with the Guardian, whose Advertising Sales Department was looking for ways to promote the company's well established values in employees' everyday behaviour and to develop their people's skills and confidence. They saw a series of community and social projects as an opportunity to bring their values to life and give their people a new environment in which to apply their skills. Three Hands set up 16 one-day projects with charities, schools and social enterprises, varying from working with wheelchair athletes and sending recycled furniture to Africa, to supporting a homelessness charity with a communications campaign and developing enterprise skills amongst media students.

Rewarding Standard Chartered Bank's high performers
Slightly further from home, we ran a programme for 7 employees of Standard Chartered Bank, from various offices from around the world, who had been identified as making a particularly strong contribution to local community engagement programmes. Their reward? A week-long programme in Delhi, India, engaging with NGO's committed to HIV/AIDS and visual impairment, two of the social issues the Bank is committed to as part of its sustainability agenda.

Making Sky's Bigger Picture even bigger
Sky's Bigger Picture is about creating a partnership with their customers, aiming to inspire action and have an impact in three key areas: creating a healthy environment; opening up the arts to more people; and encouraging participation in sport. To allow more employees to join in with the Bigger Picture, Sky wanted to find charities who were making an impact in these areas and who would benefit from employee volunteers in a meaningful way. Three Hands found the right volunteering partners – including charities like Cricket for Change, Street League and Greenhouse Schools – and devised mutually beneficial volunteering opportunities for Sky staff.

More important than ever
We think that linking businesses and communities for mutual benefit is more relevant than ever before. Why? First, more companies are seeing the need to understand and tackle the local and global social issues of relevance to their business, such as health or the ageing population. Second, employees are increasingly searching for more meaning in the workplace and a wider sense of purpose for their organisations. And third, the causes of the recession have highlighted the need to create value for a range of stakeholders, not just shareholders.
We could wax lyrical about this topic all day! We'll resist doing so here, but if you'd like to explore these themes please let us know...

Something to shout about?
The Guardian is now inviting nominations for the Guardian Public Services Awards 2009, including the prestigious citizenship and volunteering award, which is open to private sector employers. This award seeks to recognise schemes that promote good citizenship by employees, whether by volunteering, serving as councillors, school governors or magistrates, or perhaps by helping and representing disadvantaged groups. A panel of judges will select winners who can demonstrate outstanding vision and dedication in these areas. Interested? The closing date for applications is 17 July 2009 and the winners will be announced on 24 November 2009 at an awards ceremony in central London and will feature in an awards supplement distributed in the Guardian on 25 November 2009.

We hope this is a useful and timely update. Please contact us if you'd like to chat about any of this or anything else!