Dianne

How this Administration Assistant became aware of Corporate Social Responsibility:

 ?I will set you a challenge? said my boss. ?I would like you to go out into the community, find yourself a job and volunteer your Administration services for one week.?

I thought this a stiff challenge. I might have to leave my comfortable office, meet new people, take on a task and successfully complete it within a given timeframe. Success or failure, how will I fare? How can I combine this with helping within the community? Where can I look for such a task, and who will help me? With all these thoughts running through my mind, I turned to the one source I usually turn to when I need information and set about searching online using key words such as volunteer, charities, events. There were pages and pages of these so I decided to take down telephone numbers and a few contact details of local charities in my area. 

I considered emailing the various charities with details of when I would be available for work but this would take time. The only course of action was to pick up the phone and talk to someone. It is now March and I needed to get things moving quickly if I was going to get involved in a key event being held this year. 

After many phone calls I discovered the Newbury Volunteer Centre and spoke to Garry Poulson the Director. I outlined briefly what I would be able to offer in terms of admin support, and my time. As a result, I am due to meet Garry to discuss a project that he has in mind for me. After our meeting I hope things will become clear. I want to feel a sense of achievement at the end of my task. I will ask myself, has this work been worthwhile? Who in the community will benefit? How can I spread the word about this? What have I gained from it? I will keep you posted. 

Are you doing anything similar with your company?