December 2011 │ UK

Corporate Citizenship UK would like to thank the 1900 Deutsche Bank UK volunteers who donated their time to take part in a Community Challenge this year. 2011 saw a 51 per cent increase in volunteers on this programme compared to 2010, which has benefited over 9900 people in the UK.

A community challenge is a practical task undertaken by a team of employees who are responding to a need in the community. The team has to achieve a defined objective within a set period of time. Challenges are not just an opportunity to do something for others, it’s a chance to get to know the people you work with better.

The challenges employees were involved in ranged greatly from painting murals in school playgrounds, to cooking and serving breakfast at a homeless shelter.

One of the biggest challenges of the year was a seven day project completed by 120 members of the Stride GBS and Finance team, who helped the Oasis Children’s Venture in Stockwell build a tree house from scratch. The tree house, which is fully accessible for wheelchair users, will provide the local children and young people in the London Borough of Lambeth and neighbouring areas a safe place to play, explore, learn and make friends.

Sarah Wyer, Volunteer Coordinator, commented: “Thank you to all the teams who have taken part. Without your time and donation of tools and materials, the community organisations would not have been able to improve the environment for their clients. Not only is it a fantastic team building exercise, but a great way to get involved in the community.”

Links
Stride GBS and Finance team challenge
Volunteering in the UK - employees only link