Simplyhealth celebrated National Volunteers’ Week at the beginning of June by securing two exclusive volunteering opportunities for their staff at Norman Gate School in Andover and Trinity Winchester. The week, which takes place from 1st to 7th June every year, is a chance to recognise and say thank you to the millions of volunteers who help out communities across the UK.
Supporting local causes and building healthier communities are at the heart of Simplyhealth’s purpose. All employees are entitled to three working days per year of volunteering for any organisation, charity or cause of their choice, which could be related to their role at work, an interest or hobby.
On this occasion, Norman Gate School in Andover contacted Simplyhealth looking for a group of volunteers to come and spruce up a woodland walk used by the children at playtime and for classroom learning. A green-fingered Simplyhealth team donned their wellies and had a busy, fun-filled afternoon of weeding, pruning and clearing.
Nick Day, Acting Headteacher at Norman Gate School Andover, commented:
“I would like to express our thanks to the Simplyhealth team for the gardening work carried out at our school. The children and staff are thrilled with the work the team have already completed. The areas they tackled are much improved and we appreciate the enhancements to the children’s learning environment. Thank you Simplyhealth for your continued support.”
Simplyhealth employees also volunteered their time to support a Winchester-based charity. A team of three spent their morning prepping and cooking lunch for 30 clients of Trinity Winchester, a direct access drop-in centre for vulnerable people or those who are at risk of homelessness.
Sharnna Carter, Fundraising and Communication Manager at Trinity Winchester said:
“We were delighted to welcome Simplyhealth back into our kitchen to cook up a delicious feast for our clients. We cannot thank Simplyhealth enough for sticking by us over the past year and we look forward to many more volunteering sessions with them.”
To showcase these initiatives, Simplyhealth promoted them on SimplyVolunteer, an internal platform employees can explore and sign up to volunteering opportunities across the UK.
The platform is provided and developed by Do-it.org, the nation’s first and largest digital volunteer matching site, enabling all employees at Simplyhealth to find and take part in volunteering activities, increase skills, and support charities.
Wendy Cummins, Community Manager at Simplyhealth, commented, “Volunteer Week is the perfect opportunity to learn more about the benefits of volunteering and how you can get involved. As well as helping others and learning new skills, volunteering has been shown to improve volunteers’ confidence and wellbeing too. After all, it’s human nature to feel good after helping someone else in need.
“We have been working on SimplyVolunteer with Do-it over the past few months in preparation for when lockdown measures are relaxed, and hope it will maximise our community outreach. We would also welcome charities and organisations to get in contact with us for any volunteering opportunities that they may have.”
Charities or organisations interested in providing volunteering opportunities for SimplyVolunteer should email: volunteer@simplyhealth.co.uk
Simplyhealth is continuing to ensure that every day, every decision we make, and every action – big or small – not only helps improve the health of our company, customers and communities, but also the health of everyone and everything we hold dear. For more information about our community impact, visit www.simplyhealth.co.uk/about-us/community-impact
