Make a date to make a difference

The move builds on research by CSV Make a Difference Day ⁽¹⁾ which shows that 88% of employees who give time say it boosts staff morale. Over half (53%) of employees also say it increases productivity.

David Frost, Director-General of the British Chambers of Commerce said: "Many companies and the people they employ are quietly improving their communities in many different ways. Firms find that volunteering can benefit the employee, the communities in which they are based, and also their own business."

Barclays is a key advocate of employee volunteering with over 10,000 of its staff taking part in last year's CSV Make a Difference Day. Its own research ⁽²⁾ finds that 70% of staff believe perception of their company has improved following the implementation of employee volunteering programmes.

Alastair Camp, Director of Corporate Responsibility at Barclays said: "Last year our staff changed lives all over the world. It's hugely rewarding - through volunteering, our staff are able to use the skills they've gained through work to help other people in our society, and at the same time helping create a more financially inclusive society. Many of our staff have gained a taste for it and volunteer year after year."

One such Barclays volunteer was Paul Gilbert, who used CSV Make a Difference Day 2005 to provide financial awareness training to a group of young homeless people, including showing them the practicalities of opening a bank account. Their aim was to reduce feelings of exclusion, show them that people in banks are approachable, and help them understand that nobody is going to look down their nose at them. The longer term aim of the project was to enable vulnerable people to establish financial stability and help them rebuild their lives.

Paul said: "Before I started I was nervous. I didn't know what to expect. But within five minutes we had broken down the barriers. We were having a laugh and people were asking lots of questions. We got no business from the project - that wasn't the intention - we did it for a different reason. I could see joy in the eyes of some of them because someone had taken time to talk about something that they had been previously excluded from."

This year CSV Make a Difference Day takes place on Saturday 28th October, with activities taking place the two weeks either side. For more information on taking part, visit www.csv.org.uk/difference or contact Karen Middleton on 020 7643 1433 or email kmiddleton@csv.org.uk

ENDS

Further press information: Esther Freeman, CSV Make a Difference Day Press Office on 020 7812 0035 or email: efreeman@csv.org.uk Out of office hours: 07981 591150

Latest press releases: www.csv.org.uk/press

Notes for editors

1. Survey was conducted amongst 11 companies, employing in total around 200,000 staff (June 2005). Companies include, Barclays, Unum Provident, Abbey, Dixons, Anglo-American, Tridos, Linklaters, KPMG, Scottish and Southern Energy, QBO Bell Pottinger, Allied Domeq.

2. Community Investment: The impacts of employee volunteering at Barclays Bank, July 2004

3. CSV Make a Difference Day takes place on Saturday 28 October 2006, and activities take part a week either side. Around 115,000 people are expected to give time rather than money to improve their local community. The campaign is organised by CSV (Community Service Volunteers) and supported by Barclays community investment programme and the Home Office Active Communities Directorate.

4. CSV (Community Service Volunteers) creates opportunities for people to take an active part in the life of their communities through volunteering, training and community action. Each year 195,000 people give 4.9 million hours of their time as volunteers through CSV. CSV trains 11,500 people of all ages.

5. Barclays PLC actively encourages employee involvement and provides direct support through its employee community programmes. These include paid time off in work time for volunteering, grants for group volunteering activities, matched fundraising and matched payroll giving.

6. In 2005, more than 26,000 Barclays employees around the world took advantage of the support available to them for their work in the community - to the benefit of more than 7,500 charities and community groups.

7. More than 10,000 Barclays employees took part in Make A Difference Day activities globally, including projects in Africa and Spain. Volunteering activity included mentoring, beach clearing, gardening and painting.

8. Barclays is taking its community investment responsibilities seriously - investing £39.1 million in 2005. The organisation focuses on the areas where it can use its knowledge and expertise to make the biggest difference to key social issues. In the UK, this includes programmes about money education, debt advice, financial inclusion and getting people into work. Barclays also strives to strengthen the local communities in which they operate, and are investing £30 million over three years in grassroots sport through Barclays Spaces for Sports.

9. For further information see social responsibility at http://www.barclays.com. Media enquiries contact: Jon Logie, Barclays PLC on 0207 116 6040.