Engaging With The Community
We provide an essential service to the communities in which we operate, connecting people with their workplace, key services and with each other. Communities comprise our customers, employees and neighbours and building relationships with those communities is central to our business strategy.
We must constantly engage with the community in order to develop services that meet local needs. We work in partnership with local authorities and businesses to promote sustainable travel that reduces congestion and improves quality of life. We are also a major employer and offer non-discriminatory employment opportunities to all sectors of the community.
Beyond these day-to-day activities we have created wide-ranging community partnerships and we support the community through charitable donations and sponsorships.
This year we joined the London Benchmarking Group. They have developed a comprehensive model to determine a company's contribution to the community, including cash, time and in-kind donations, as well as management costs. The model also captures the outputs and longer-term impacts of community investment projects on society and the business itself.
Key Developments in 2007/08
- Established National Partnership with Save the Children.
- Corporate donations and fundraising activities raised £218,791 for the charity.
- Appointed charity champions in each operating company.
- Became member of the London Benchmarking Group.
Charitable Giving
Our partnership with Save the Children has focused our charitable activity and given all employees an opportunity to engage in charitable work. The funds we raise are being used to appoint three new members of staff to expand the work of the charity in helping some of the poorest children in the UK. Our first major funding event, First Monster, was a highly successful duathlon around the shores of Loch Ness. This has been followed by a series of First Mini Monsters (mini-duathlons) taking place around the country. We are also assisting Save the Children's campaign to highlight the plight of poor children in the UK. Six of our buses have been branded and carry the hard-hitting message, "Guess how many UK children live in poverty? 1 in 3". The buses have taken the message to millions of people in towns and cities across the UK.
Employee Volunteering
In 2005 our work with Business in the Community established a programme of community challenges within our supervisory training NVQ. This programme has been highly successful and feedback clearly indicates the positive benefits people gain from volunteering. Since May 2005 we have completed 70 projects through this scheme, with around 980 delegates completing over 7,840 hours of volunteering and making a difference to more than 60 organisations across the UK. Projects ranged from developing sensory gardens for children and adults with sensory impairment to decorating community facilities.
Community Partnerships
Partnerships are an important part of our community programme. In many parts of the country we work with the local police force on anti-vandalism campaigns. This initiative includes educational programmes with local schoolchildren and equipping a number of buses with resources for educational projects. We team up with educational charities to teach children about environmental and safety issues and have lent our support to the Every Child Matters campaign. We sponsor First Football, an initiative aimed at young people in Social Inclusion Partnership areas and promoting football as a positive alternative to anti-social behaviour.
Further information about our community engagement activities can be found by following the links below: