Does your organization co-operate with volunteers seeking to help others via the Internet? Don't wait till the summertime and join 'Discover E-volunteering' Competition now! Attractive prizes are awaiting for the authors of the best e-volunteering projects.

All organisations from the European Union cooperating with volunteers through the Internet may take part in the Competition. The application form is available on the website: http://www.e-volunteering.eu/competition/ . The deadline for submitting the applications is July 31, 2011.

 

The Competition will consist of the following stages:

• May, 25 – July, 31,  2011 - Call for appliactions
• August, 22 – September, 5, 2011 – The Competition Selection Committee selects 9-12 best projects.
• September, 12 – October, 12, 2011 – On-line voting.
• November 2011 – Final Gala in Warsaw.

Detailed information on the Competition, the Regulations, and promotional materials are available on the website: http://www.e-volunteering.eu/competition/

For more information please contact:

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

The European edition of 'Discover e-volunteering' is organized by the Good Network Foundation and Fundacja Orange, in cooperation with Competition Partners. The European edition of 'Discover e-volunteering' competition is pursued under the project 'Values and activities of volunteering and e-volunteering' co-financed by the European Union. The European Union is not responsible for any content generated by the project.

Sarajevo Seminar is the biggest event in the SEE region that promotes and celebrates European Year of Volunteering in 2011 and 10th anniversary of the International Year of Volunteering in this part of Europe. It is an opportunity that will allow for the productive interaction between enterprises, public institutions and civil society organizations coming from the South East Europe countries, the European Union, the United States as well as from international and intergovernmental organizations.

 

The ceremonial opening of the seminar is scheduled for the 21st of June 2011 at 10.00AM. The seminar participants will be addressed by the representatives of the Council of Europe, OSCE Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Embassy of Poland in Sarajevo, a country which takes over the presidency of the European Union and the organization committee of the seminar.

The importance of this topic can be reflected in the decision of European Union to declare 2011 as the European year of volunteering. Beside European Union, the Council of Europe and UN also acknowledge and recognize volunteers as one of the main resources for combating poverty, social exclusion and promotion of solidarity. For that reason we would like to use this positive tide and give incentives to regional governments, organizations and companies to contribute to better environment for the development of volunteering also in the SEE region and thus mutually invest in the future of our communities.

During four working days, seminar participants will exchange information and experience about the following topics:

- aims of the European Year of Volunteering 2011 and initiatives for celebrating this year in Europe and region of South East Europe,
- volunteering concepts and practices in the region,
- legal framework and volunteering policies on European and regional levels,
- economic value of volunteering, coorporate social responsibility and coorporative volunteering.

The participants of the seminar will also be the speakers from European Volunteer Centre, International Association for Volunteer Effort, Alliance for European Volunteer Service, European Commission Programme Youth in Action as well as the representatives of the organizations from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, France, Italy, Hungary and USA.

This event is supported by Council of Europe - European Youth Foundation, OSCE Mission to BiH, European Commission - Youth in Action Programme, Technical Assistance for Civil Society Organization in BiH (TACSO BiH) and Civil Society Promotion Centre (CSPC).

Event program can be found at:

http://seeyn.org/images/stories/2011/see%20youth%20for%20the%20european%20year%20of%20volunteering%202011.pdf

 

European Employee Volunteering Awards Case Study Report - Increasing the employability skills of people facing barriers to work. A report published by Business in the Community (BITC), 2011.

Corporate volunteering in Germany (Corporate volunteering in Deutschland), Joint study of Roland Berger Strategy Consultants and the American Chamber of Commerce in Germany, April 2011

Summary: For companies in Germany, corporate volunteering is often standard business practice, and this will play an ever-increasing role. When asked about the reason for involvement in corporate volunteering activities, most cited the companies as the primary source of motivation. This shows that companies recognize corporate volunteering as their own social responsibility. Study in German only. Read the summary of the study in English here.

Corporate volunteering is on the rise in Germany.  Many firms now see volunteering as increasingly relevant to their operations, a study reports. Read more here.

Give & Gain Day 24th June 2011

On the 24th June thousands of employees across the UK, and throughout the world, supported the community they work or live in by taking part in Give & Gain Day 2011 – the UK's only national day for employee volunteering.

By signing up to Give & Gain Day participants joined a growing movement of companies that will make a real difference on the issues that matter to schools, local charities and community groups across the UK.

At the same time, employers invested in their people by offering them the opportunity to take part in a fun and rewarding day that builds skills and makes them feel good about working for you. 

Going International

This year Give & Gain Day went international with activity taking place in 16 countries throughout the world resulting in 535 organisations providing over £3m worth of support going to communities most in need. 27, 530 employee volunteers worked on 422 projects to support over 330,000 individuals. Activity in the UK alone supported 25,406 pupils/excluded individuals to feel more ready for work, offering them insight into the workplace and the future career opportunities available to them.

Give & Gain Day 2012 is on the 18th May 2012 - whether you give an hour or a full working day – make a difference in those communities that need it the most and join www.giveandgainday.org.uk

First European Employee Volunteering Awards 2011 : Businesses across Europe are recognised for improving the employability skills of people who face barriers to work.

On 17 March winners of the first European Employee Volunteering Awards 2011 were announced at an exclusive reception held at Business in the Community’s (BITC) Responsible Business Convention 2011.

BITC developed the Awards scheme with 21 European partners from the CSR360 Global Partner Network in recognition of the European Year of Volunteering 2011.

Sue Adkins, International Director, BITC said: “Employment continues to be a central concern for the European Union, in particular the importance of addressing barriers to employment, experienced in more disadvantaged communities. Around 100 million Europeans engage in some form of voluntary activity – if they were a country they would be the biggest member state of the EU. BITC is delighted to be supporting the first European Employee Volunteering Awards and celebrate the wonderful contributions that these millions of volunteers make every day.”

Over 250 entries from 22 countries across Europe were received:

The Final awards event took place in London, UK but the Awards were run in 22 countries across Europe:

Belgium
Czech Republic
Estonia
Finland
France
Georgia
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Ireland
Italy
Netherlands
Poland
Romania
Serbia
Slovakia
Spain
Switzerland
Turkey
Ukraine
Scotland
UK

 

The European Employee Volunteering Awards were co-funded by the European Commission and kindly supported by Alliance Boots, Hewlett Packard and Tata Consultancy Services.

The awards ceremony included a poster exhibition of the 60 national award winners and the launch of a Case Study report showcasing best practice from across Europe.

 

The Awards were presented by:

Ornella Barra – Chief Executive, Pharmaceutical Division, Alliance Boots;

Brendan Burns – Member of the European Economic and Social Committee;

Jane Hodgen, UK&I Human Resources, Tata Consultancy Services;

Sue Bird – DG Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, European Commission and 

John MacDonald – Head of Task Force for the European Year of Volunteering 2011, European Commission.

Awards were given for the following 5 category winners:

Large Company Winner: Koç Holding A.Ş. (Turkey)

Small Company Winner: NORSYS (France)

Innovation Winner: MITIE Group (United Kingdom)

Newcomer Winner: Abbott (Ireland)

Public Authorities Winner: Magistrate of the City of Wiesbaden, Office for Social Affairs (Germany)

 

Through rewarding company’s Employee Volunteering Schemes, BITC hopes to increase the level of employee engagement, particularly during 2011, the European Year of the Volunteer and the UN Year of the Volunteer.
 
The Case Study Report demonstrates the value of corporate volunteering and how at these uncertain economic times, businesses can play a crucial role in enabling people back into work.

Related links
For more information contact: Tessa Kipping, CSR360 Global Partner Network Manager at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or on +44 (0)20 7566 6642
For more information about the European Employee Volunteering Awards please visit: http://www.bitc.org.uk/global/european_volunteering_awards/index.html
For more information about removing barriers to work please visit: http://www.bitc.org.uk/community/employability/work_inclusion.html
For more information about setting up employee volunteering programmes please visit: http://www.bitc.org.uk/community/employee_volunteering/
For more information about setting up employee volunteering programmes internationally please visit: http://engagetoolkit.bitc.org.uk/

Companies and volunteering Factsheet, EUROFOUND - European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, 15 February 2011

In most Member States, no legal provision or specific support schemes exist to facilitate private sector companies' engaging in corporate volunteering. Nonetheless, more companies are introducing such initiatives. CSR Europe, the European business network for corporate social responsibility, and its national-level partner organisations such as Business in the Community (in Ireland and the UK) are actively involved in promoting volunteering by staff in companies.

Good healthy day.

 

My Name is Engr. Mohammad Bakhrieba, public goodwill ambassador for Ambassadors of the World program, that has started in 86 counties
world wide, I do social projects in Saudi Arabia in coordination with the Ministry of Health and now the ministry of Culture and
information. All the projects we conducted have made great impact on the society at the national level as we align our efforts with the
international community plans for the United Nation that meets the Saudi Government vision.

We will be pleased to participate and support any initiative that will impact the mutual understanding and sustainability for our young generations among the
world, we are very keen to partner, share and learn from our colleagues in Europe.

Yours Truelly,
Engr. Mohammad Bakhrieba,
Public Goodwill Ambassador, AWP,
UN-WHO International Organizational Partner,
Founder of STOP TB Jeddah Group,
AWP - International Coordinator.