From picking up a paint brush to financial tuition – Skipton actively encourages its staff to take part in voluntary activities. There are mutual benefits; for staff, it’s a great opportunity for personal development while the organisations they help benefit greatly from the time and effort the volunteers put in. Staff are allowed to volunteer within working hours and there are plenty of choices for how they can help others.
Right to Read
Right to Read is a national campaign which promotes literacy and seeks to engage volunteers from businesses to become reading partners with 7-11 year old, primary school children who have reading difficulties.
Skipton has a team of volunteers who visit local primary schools every week to assist children.
Jean McCrickard, Water Street Primary School headteacher, said, “The Skipton staff do an amazing job with the children and looking at how they have developed with their reading and ability and confidence makes it all worthwhile."
Team Volunteering
Various teams are encouraged to take part in group volunteering as a great way of team building. With the support of Bradford Cares, some of the team volunteering projects identified and completed over the last two years have involved gardening, painting and restoration work.