Barclays employees get involved with community as part of Make a Difference Day  

(MENAFN Press) Employees mentor local students and refurbish classrooms of special needs centers

Barclays works closely with Al Wasl Hospital, Injaz and Dubai Municipality to serve the community through employee volunteering

Barclays set the tone for a ten day community engagement campaign by mentoring Emirati school students. This is one in a series of initiatives implemented in support of CSV Make a Difference Day held from 24 October to 7 November 2009.

Community Services Volunteers (CSV), a charity set up 50 years ago to promote volunteering action, encourages people to donate their time and contribute to the community spirit. Barclays has been associated with the CSV Make a Difference Day campaign since 2000 as part of its Charity Begins at Work programme and it is one of the largest corporate contributors of volunteers to the campaign. CSV Make a Difference Day unites all Barclays colleagues across the world to make a difference in their communities through volunteering.

Employees decide themselves how they wish to ‘make a difference’. This could be through a charity colleagues are already involved with, or there is the opportunity to be involved with the larger group activities.

Michael Miebach, Managing Director for Barclays Middle East and North Africa, Global Retail Banking said: “Employee engagement is a key part of Barclays community investment programme. CSV Make a Difference Day provides an opportunity for employees to become involved with community activities that inspire them. Colleagues not only benefit from new experiences but are also able to make a real and lasting difference to the local community. The initiative aims to build on last year’s achievements, while uniting Barclays colleagues in all our business areas worldwide.”

Nearly 400 Barclays employees participated in a series of community programmes across Abu Dhabi and Dubai during this year’s campaign. Of the series of initiatives planned, the first was a blood donation drive in partnership with Al Wasl hospital. The activity, held at Barclays flagship branch in Burj Dubai, involved 107 colleagues from all divisions of the bank. The blood donation drive collected 90 blood units. In Abu Dhabi, through the partnership with the Sheikh Khalifa Medical City 54 blood units were collected. In another activity, volunteers refurbished and painted classrooms at the Dubai Center for Special Needs and the Future Center in Abu Dhabi.

The Mentoring Programme organised in partnership with Injaz, a leading non-profit organisation that seeks to educate and inspire young people to succeed in a global economy, offered 26 students a first-hand experience of working in a global financial services company.

Barclays employees also participated in a cleaning drive organised by Dubai Municipality as part of the ‘Clean up the world’ global campaign. Among other initiatives, Barclays manned a stall at the Special Needs Families Development Center (SNF) to help raise funds for young adults with special needs.

The CSV Make a Difference Day campaign in 2008 was Barclays largest and most successful volunteering campaign worldwide, involving 22,684 employees, along with 9,452 customers and associates in 27 countries – accounting for 40% more colleagues than in 2007. Last year’s campaign saw colleagues involved in 1,881 projects – this year we are aiming for even more!