Why did you choose to work with Volunteering Matters and Volunteering Works?
Deutsche Bank’s youth engagement programme, Born to Be, aims to prepare state secondary school students for 21st century employment by helping to raise their aspirations, develop skills, and provide access to opportunities. When establishing a new partnership, we always look for likeminded organisations that will help meet our strategic goals while also delivering engaging and rewarding volunteer opportunities for our employees.
The added benefit of being able to truly partner with Volunteering Works, leaning on their expertise and developing shared aims, has enabled us to build a successful bespoke programme that speaks to the strategic aims of Born to Be.
Were there specific outcomes that you wanted to achieve with your employee volunteering programme?
Our Support my Future programme in partnership with Volunteering Works aims to enable young people to reach their full potential with a focus on increasing confidence, employability skills and academic attainment for students in areas of high deprivation.
Over the past 20 years, 2,609 Deutsche Bank employees have undertaken skills-based volunteering roles as coaches in literacy, numeracy, and employability subjects, and have provided sessions focused on enterprise skills and future careers. We’re always delighted to open the doors to our office and welcome students in too, providing them with an opportunity to experience a working environment and build their insights.
What were the benefits and impact of working with Volunteering Works?
The Volunteering Works team are experts in delivering a broad style of employee volunteering events. This experience, plus their continued innovative approach, has been so important to the success and longevity of our Support my Future programme. Together we have been able to reach 3,986 young people, helping to improve academic ability and confidence, giving them the tools and skills required for future employment.
Working with Volunteering Matters and Volunteering Works has allowed Deutsche Bank to have an impact on the community in which we operate, focusing on building relationships with schools local to our offices that will benefit most from this Born to Be programme. It is vitally important that our CSR programmes reach students that are most in need. Working with an expert organisation like Volunteering Matters enables the bank to do so.
How did you and your team find the overall experience?
The Volunteering Works team have been fantastic to work with!
In person opportunities have run smoothly with many employees continuing to volunteer year after year, a testament to the experience the charity provides. Then during the pandemic, they were able to adapt quickly to a virtual environment allowing our partnership to continue to support young people when they needed it the most.
As we celebrate a milestone 20 years in partnership, we are pleased to continue our programme and look forward to deepening our impact together.
Get in touch to find out more about how we can develop your employee volunteering, including skills-based volunteering.