Corporate Angels in goodcompany at Australian Stock Exchange

6 May 2008 | goodcompany and Minister for Volunteering, the Hon Linda Burney MP

In the lead up to National Volunteer Week, six leading corporate executives joined goodcompany and the Minister for Volunteering Linda Burney to support skilled volunteering initiatives within the corporate workplace.

Joining goodcompany General Manager Belinda Morrissey and Minister Burney at the Australian Stock Exchange were Vodafone Australia CEO Russell Hewitt, Macquarie Group Chief Information Officer Nigel Smyth, Yahoo 7 CEO Rohan Lund, Fox Interactive CEO Rebekah Horne, FOXTEL's Patrick Delany and Network Ten's Head of Digital Damian Smith.

Goodcompany's Belinda Morrissey said that many companies are looking for productive ways to give back to the community. Why not leverage their most valuable commodity – their staff?

"We know that many skilled employees want to participate in the community but, with their hectic work schedules, they rarely find the time," she said. "Employers who provide paid time for their staff to volunteer their professional skills contribute substantially to the not-for-profit sector."

"It's also been shown that companies with a culture of community engagement enhance their employee engagement and retention."

NSW Minister for Volunteering Linda Burney said employer sponsored volunteering is an increasingly important way business is engaging with the not-for-profit sector.

"This generous exchange of skills, ideas and experiences benefits both the volunteer and the organisations they help. Corporate volunteers are an important and growing part of the voluntary sector in NSW and I congratulate the CEOs who have established workplace volunteering programs," Ms Burney said.

Russell Hewitt, CEO Vodafone Australia, has introduced a program called BeyondYou as part of Vodafone's corporate responsibility program and the Vodafone Australia Foundation. BeyondYou provides all Vodafone staff with at least one extra leave day each year for volunteering their skills to a community organisation.

Macquarie Group's chief information officer Nigel Smyth said many of his staff provide IT-related skills to a whole range of not-for profits, often developing lasting relationships with philanthropic organisations. 

goodcompany is a young and dynamic non-for-profit organisation based in Melbourne and Sydney. Its 6000 registered volunteers donate their professional skills to assist over 600 community organisations.

On 15 May goodcompany is holding an event for potential volunteers – visit the goodcompany website for more details or call Belinda Morrissey on 02 9035 6630.