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Corporate Volunteering Delivers Big Online Punch for Small Community Groups
GlaxoSmithKline initiative forges ongoing links between volunteers and charities
It’s not every day that an entire team of top corporate communication specialists goes looking for volunteering opportunities. But that’s what happened last year after staff at pharmaceuticals and healthcare giant, GlaxoSmithKline, were given an extra day's holiday to be spent supporting the wider community. GSK’s Corporate Communications team put its business skills to work for two London community groups, The Brix and Portugal Prints. What resulted was ‘a very rewarding and collaborative experience.
‘We knew what sort of projects we were looking for but we weren’t sure how to find them’ says Michaela Taylor, who heads the Corporate Identity and Communications Team at GSK’s London head office. She and her colleagues wanted to put their extensive web skills to good use as part of the company’s new community volunteering scheme, introduced by Chief Executive, Andrew Witty.
‘We needed to find some time limited projects where our experience could really add a lot of value’ she recalls.
After approaching Reach for assistance, a number of small community groups in London were canvassed about the opportunity. Of those that pitched for support, the team at GSK selected two organisations to work with.
‘We chose projects where we thought we could really make a big difference’ says Michaela. ‘They were organisations which I guess appealed to our personal passions.’
Two of the GSK team, Phillipa Proctor, a designer and photographer, and web expert Karen Ayers, chose to work with The Brix, an arts and community centre housed is a former church in South London.
‘The GSK volunteers couldn’t have arrived at a better time,’ says Chair of Trustees, Carolyn Clark. ‘We were in the process of creating our first proper website and had been shopping around web design companies without really being clear about what we wanted. We’d had some shockingly big four-figure price quotes and had no idea what would represent value for money.’
‘The great thing about the GSK volunteers was that we knew we were in good hands and we were re-assured by the fact that they weren’t with us to make money,’ adds Carolyn. ‘They were very clever at understanding what it was that we wanted and very quickly came up with a fantastic design which really worked for us.
Their enthusiasm was great and I think they really enjoyed the huge creative scope the project gave them. Thanks to them we’ve now got an effective presence on the internet which is essential to our future, not least as a powerful way of marketing ourselves.’
The input at The Brix by the GSK duo went far beyond the one day their employers had given them for voluntary work. They put many additional hours of their own time into creating the new website and are continuing to support the community group by helping them update content on the site.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the Thames, an innovative charity that supports people recovering from mental illness became the other organisation to benefit from GSK expertise. Portugal Prints, based in Westminster, operates a print and graphics business which gives up to forty people with mental health issues the chance to employ their creativity in a commercial design studio. GSK website editor Simon Quayle joined his team leader Michaela Taylor in helping Portugal Prints create a new website.
‘They spent quite a bit of time with us, working with both staff and service users and very quickly gained a good grasp of the ideas behind Portugal Prints and our ethos,’ says Project Worker, Jill Bryan. ‘We already had a commercial company which had volunteered to help us build the site. Michaela and Simon became our consultants. We had only a vague idea of what we wanted to do and they helped us think things through in a much more grown-up way.
‘They taught us how to structure our content, made our copy much more succinct and buzzy and enabled us to sell ourselves in the right way. Above all, they helped us communicate the very special atmosphere that exists at Portugal Prints. Working with them was a very positive experience.’
The contribution which the GSK volunteers made to the organisation’s online presence went far beyond the new website. They helped them create a presence on ebay and Facebook and provided the project with small cameras with which to create videos about their work that were posted on YouTube.
‘We thoroughly enjoyed working with Portugal Prints,’ says Michaela. ‘It was incredibly rewarding and a very collaborative process. We worked together to share our skills and experience with them and then they took things on and made them happen. I remember the first time I saw the videos that they’d made with the cameras we provided. They just brought tears to my eyes.’
The relationship forged between the GSK volunteers and Portugal Prints seems set to endure. Christmas cards produced by the project were on sale at a craft fair staged in the company’s head office. And there are plans to hold an exhibition of Portugal Print artwork at a gallery there.
‘New links have been forged and we will continue to work for the charity in our own time,’ says Michaela. ‘It’s just great to be able to contribute so much.’
Find out more about Portugal Prints and The Brix by visiting: