Employee Volunteer Week, an annual Charities Aid Foundation SA campaign to grow employee volunteering in communities takes place from 5 to 11 March with the theme Building the Bridge. During this week thousands of corporate employees will go out into communities to volunteer their time and skills for the greater good.
Corporate support for volunteerism is an acknowledged aspect of good corporate citizenship. During Employee Volunteer Week 2012 Charities Aid Foundation Southern Africa will be working to 'build bridges' between the volunteering aspirations of companies and their employees, and the real needs of community organisations.
Volunteering is increasingly acknowledged as an important contribution to society. Although the first Statistics SA volunteering survey published in 2011 reports a volunteering rate of only 3,5% of the working age population, it is calculated that even that low rate of volunteering is worth R7,5 billion per annum to the national economy.
Employer support may be included in B-BBEE scoring
The latest edition of the prestigious CSI Handbook estimates that 76% of South African corporates support some form of employee involvement. Over R4 billion is contributed by South African companies every year to charity and development projects. But currently only an estimated 22% of companies support payroll giving - which at this stage has the most likely potential to swell development resources while also enhancing corporate citizenship profiles. An added incentive is that employer support for employee community involvement may be included in the B-BBEE scoring of company social spend.
Charities Aid Foundation Southern Africa is working to establish all voluntary actions by employed South Africans as accepted aspects of corporate social responsibility, and a concomitant development resource. The combined value of employee payroll giving, volunteering and in-kind contributions to South Africa's economy has yet to be quantified but it can be assumed that the value is significant. The Employee Volunteer Week is an important part of the campaign to popularise volunteering and increase resources for the non-profit sector.
Charities Aid Foundation Southern Africa has set up social media sites where this action will be tracked, as well as on the website www.cafsouthernafrica.org.
