Community team challenges

In October 2007, we supported our first firm-wide community and pro bono event. All our offices were encouraged to participate in Community Challenge by supporting team challenges with local community organisations.

Over 600 people, including both our senior partners, participated from 23 offices around the network. Volunteers came from all practice groups and business services areas, helping to make a real difference, especially to homeless people and disadvantaged young people in our local communities.

In total, we supported over 50 team challenges. According to our volunteer surveys, 96 per cent of volunteers thought the projects were worthwhile, addressing a real community need; 99 per cent found the challenges enjoyable; 96 per cent thought they were a good opportunity to be with other people from the firm; and 100 per cent said they would consider volunteering again.

We will be supporting the initiative again in October 2008.

Team challenges throughout the year

Many of our offices also choose to support team challenges at other times of the year. Since 2001, people from a variety of offices have participated in our house-building project with Habitat for Humanity. In 2007 alone, a total of 117 volunteers from our offices in Amsterdam, Brussels, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, London, Paris and Rome helped build 12 houses in South Africa for young people orphaned by AIDS, raising £115,000 for the building materials.

Sixty volunteers in London also got involved in a house-build supported by the charity in south London as part of our Community Challenge initiative.

‘It’s the generous contribution of time, enthusiasm and money that companies put in to community days like these, that help us enrich our children’s experience of school.’ Lorraine Cooper, deputy head teacher, Maryland Primary School, Newham, London, following our team challenge bringing together our community and pro bono co-ordinators from around the world to transform the infant playground and nature garden as part of the London Better Together Day